Legacy of Atlantis
by Rattler20200
Summary: An ancient prophecy sends Sonic on another adventure. And one young hedgehog will learn the truth about her heritage. R
1. The Great City

Author's Note: Welcome to my first non crossover fic. Although at times it may sound like one, it's all Sonic.

I'll say it now, so I won't have to say it later.

I own nothing. Except Kaylee.

Kaylee: Thanks.

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Chapter 1

The Great City

_The Past_

The towers seemed tall enough to touch the sky. Kaylee, princess of Atlantis, sat on a balcony overlooking the city. The only other civilizations that could rival the Atlantian hedgehogs were the Babylonians and the echidnas of Angel Island. Kaylee smiled, thinking of her close friend, Tikal.

"Princess Kaylee," a voice came from inside, "Your father has requested your presence in the Great Hall."

The orange hedgehog sighed, getting to her feet. Being a princess was not what Kaylee thought it would be. Council meetings, diplomatic gatherings… royal pains in the tail. Of course, there was another part to being an Atlantian princess, insuring the safety of the Demon Ruby.

Generations ago, Kaylee's ancestors trapped a powerful evil within the massive crimson gem that now rested in the very heart of Atlantis. Legends foretell a time when that evil will escape, causing death and destruction to all in its path. Only the princess of Atlantis has the power to vanquish the dark being, at least that's how the legend goes. There was also mention of a knight who possesses the speed of the wind. Kaylee could never figure out what that meant. She even asked Tikal, who had become an expert on Echidna Lore.

"There is mention of a warrior possessing the speed of the wind, but I do not know what to make of it," Tikal had said on Kaylee's last visit to Angel Island. She had considered visiting Babylon Garden, to see if those birds knew anything, but changed her mind after hearing the exploits of one group of Babylonians.

The guards stood at attention as she passed through the doors of the Great Hall. Kaylee was wishing that she was out in her boat instead of here. She loved the water, and was an expert swimmer.

"Ah, daughter. You've come just in time."

Kaylee was snapped out of her revere by none other than her father, the king of Atlantis. She saw that he was not alone. An old, brown echidna was present as well. Kaylee recognized him as the chieftain of the Angel Island Echidnas, and Tikal's father. Relations between Angel Island and Atlantis were always a little off balance, but there has never been a war between hedgehogs and echidnas. Tikal was also present, standing next to her father.

"Kaylee, the Great Chieftain has brought to my attention several raids along the Echidna border," King Trian said, "I believe that these raids are connected with those along our border."

"Do we know who is responsible?" Kaylee asked.

"We have this," the echidna chieftain said, tossing a medallion to her. She recognized it immediately. It was the seal of the Babylon Rogues, a band of elite thieves and bandits under the direct command of the Babylonian Emperor. Kaylee understood what her father was about to ask of her. She and Tikal were to go to Babylon Garden to speak with the Emperor.

That night, Kaylee had an unusual dream. She stood in a large city, but it was not Atlantis. Many of the buildings had sharp edges, and there were strange, metal chariots moving about under their own power. Signs written in some foreign language could be clearly seen from the street. As she moved through the city, she saw many people, unlike any she had ever seen. After wandering aimlessly for several minutes, she came across more familiar figures, two hedgehogs, an echidna, and a fox. The fox had two tails, and seemed to be good friends with the others. The red echidna looked like one of the warriors she had seen in Echidna City on Angel Island. But the thing that she noticed the most was the two hedgehogs. One was blue, and seemed to have a care-free attitude. The other was pink, and she was wearing Kaylee's bracelets. Kaylee could not understand what they were saying, but two words stood out from the rest, "Sonic" and "Amy".

**

* * *

  
**

Morning came with the usual fanfare in the royal tower. Kaylee pulled the covers over her head, not wanting to get up just yet. The only thing that got her moving was the constant knocking at her door. Getting out of bed, Kaylee took note of her appearance. Her normally tame quills were pointing in every direction. Shaking her head, Kaylee went to work on the problem. The knocking continued, and she finally called for the person to enter. A servant opened the door, and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of the princess's quills.

"Your highness, your boat has been loaded with provisions. I understand that you are going to stop at Angel Island on your way to Babylon?" the servant regained his composure.

"That's right," Kaylee replied, finally taming her wild quills. She quickly got dressed, choosing a blue and white tunic that she was fond of. After eating breakfast, she made her way to the harbor. There, lined up next to several other boats, was Kaylee's boat. Although as a princess she could have a larger ship with a crew, Kaylee preferred the small, three man runabout. It was rigged so that one person could easily control the boat. With the wind at her back, Kaylee set sail for Angel Island.

She was only a few miles from the city when it happened. A massive wave hit her boat from behind, and a sound unlike any she had ever heard tore through the air. Kaylee looked back, and gasped. Atlantis was gone.

**

* * *

  
**

_The Present_

Station Square gleamed in the summer sun. If they were able to pull it off, many people were taking a "sick day" to enjoy the sun. One of the Emerald Coast's beach lounge chairs was occupied, but not by a human. He was taking a mid-afternoon snooze, when a pink hedgehog walked up to him.

"Hey Sonic!"

Startled by the sudden and unexpected calling of his name in his ear, Sonic the Hedgehog jumped, and landed in a heap next to his lounge chair. Poking his head over the seat, he pulled his sunglasses off his face.

"Amy, do you enjoy scaring the life out of me?" Sonic asked. Amy just smiled, hearts filling her eyes. Sonic rolled his eyes, and climbed back into the lounge chair. Placing the sunglasses back over his eyes, he tried to ignore the love struck girl hovering over him.

"It's a beautiful day, Sonic. You wanna go for a swim with me?" Amy asked, forgetting about Sonic's hydrophobia, which came from not knowing how to swim. Before Sonic could respond, something caught his eye. Thinking that anything would be better than swimming lessons with Amy, Sonic leapt from the lounge chair, and took off.

"Sonic! Ooooo… he's such a brat sometimes," Amy said.

As it turns out, what Sonic saw was his newest rival from the EX World Grand Prix, Jet the Hawk. Sonic skidded to a halt, sending sand up like a tidal wave. The sand landed on Jet, who started complaining about some joker throwing sand. As soon as he saw the blue hedgehog, Jet rolled his eyes.

"Sonic," he said, brushing sand out of his emerald feathers, "Is this a social visit, or did you just decide to bury me in the sand?"

"I saw you and figured I'd say hi," Sonic shrugged, "Besides, I needed to get away from Amy."

"Oh, having trouble with your girlfriend?" Jet said, knowing full well that Amy was not Sonic's girlfriend. The blue hedgehog glared at the hawk. Before he could respond to the jab, a girl skidded to a halt on her hover board, burying Sonic in sand.

"Jet! I found something I think you should see!" Wave the Swallow said, getting off her board. Jet looked over at the pile of sand, saw a pair of eyes glaring at him, and burst out laughing. Wave looked at him like he was crazy, until Sonic escaped from the sand pile.

"Oh, Sonic," She said sarcastically, "I didn't see you there."

"What did you find?" Jet asked, curious as to what Wave had found. The swallow pulled out a picture, and handed it to Jet. Sonic, curious as well, peered over Jet's shoulder.

"The tablet was found by archeologists in the Mystic Ruins. The thing is, it's not written in ancient echidna," Wave said. Jet looked her in the eye. Sonic didn't know what that meant, and looked at her as well with a blank look. Wave sighed, and decided to explain.

"Centuries ago, there were at least three civilizations that had great power. They were the echidnas of Angel Island, the Babylonians, and one other only spoken of in legend. I believe that this tablet was written by someone from this other civilization."

Jet thought about it for a moment. Sonic continued with the blank stare, still not knowing what Wave was talking about. Jet's eyes widened as he realized what Wave was saying.

"You can't mean…"

"I think the humans found something from Atlantis," Wave said.

"Atlantis… I can't believe it. I've heard stories of Atlantis, but I never believed them," Jet said. Sonic still didn't know what they were talking about. One thing he did know was that if there was a chance this "Atlantis" was real, and had some ancient treasure, then Dr. Eggman might try to find it. Of course, the Babylon Rogues might beat him to it. Jet and Wave continued to talk about Atlantis, completely ignoring Sonic. Something caught Sonic's eye again. He turned, and saw an orange hedgehog dressed in blue and white. Before he could say anything, she was gone. Sonic left the two birds, and headed towards where the orange hedgehog was. There was no sign of her anywhere.

The blue hedgehog left, unaware that he was being watched. Silently, the orange orb followed, as if looking for something, or someone.

Amy found Sonic walking along the boardwalk, and ran over to him. She tackled him in her excitement, and hugged him. Sonic gasped, feeling like he was about to pass out from lack of oxygen.

"Some things never change."

Amy let go of Sonic, and turned to see who spoke. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting on the rail, looking as if he just happened to be there, was Shadow the Hedgehog. Amy looked up at the black hedgehog, thinking that he looked out of place on the beach. Sonic smiled, getting back on his feet.

"Long time no see Shadow," he said.

"Tails asked me to find you," Shadow said, getting straight to the point. He hopped down from the rail, and casually approached the pair. Sonic thought that it was weird for Shadow to do something like this. Normally, he would not have even bothered. The black hedgehog crossed his arms over his chest. Amy asked him about what Tails wanted, curious as to why the two tailed fox didn't come himself.

"It has something to do with some rock with symbols on it," Shadow explained, "He thinks that it might have something to do with a tablet that the humans found."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sonic said with a smirk. Before Amy could say anything, Sonic disappeared in a blink of an eye. Shadow just shook his head. Amy sighed, wishing that she was as fast as the blue hedgehog. Shadow grabbed Amy by the arm, and dashed off after the blue blur.

**

* * *

  
**

Tails' workshop rested on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. The perfect place for a camouflaged hanger and runway. Inside, a certain two-tailed fox was examining an unusual crystal. The crystal fit in the palm of his hand, and looked like it was carved with great care. The symbols on it were unlike any he had ever seen before.

There was a knock at the door. Tails got up from the table, and walked over to the door. Sonic was waiting on the other side. Shadow skidded to a halt, with Amy in tow. Tails shook his head, smiling.

"Sonic, you're late," he joked. The sapphire hedgehog placed a hand on his chest, faking shock.

"Me? Late? Never," Sonic said.

Shadow shook his head. Amy greeted the two-tailed kit, then made her way to the kitchen inside. Tails shook his head again.

"Come on in, guys."

Sonic and Shadow followed Tails over to the table that he was working at. There, resting on the table, was an intricately carved crystal. Sonic whistled at the sight. Shadow picked it up, examining the crystal from every angle. It had symbols all along one side, and two prongs sticking out the bottom. The way it was carved, it looked like it fit into something else, almost like a key. With a finger, Shadow tried to scratch the surface. After several attempts, including running it along the edge of the table, he gave up. The surface of the crystal remained unscratched.

"I still haven't figured out how it was carved," Tails said, "It seems to be harder than even a diamond."

Amy came out of the kitchen with a glass of orange juice. Her eyes were drawn to the crystal like a magnet. Sonic noticed the change in Amy's expression, and decided to ask about it.

"Hey Amy, you look like you've just seen a ghost," he said.

"I feel like I've seen that thing before," Amy said, "But I don't know from where."

"I found it in the Mystic Ruins," Tails explained, "Back during the Chaos Incident."

"Chaos Incident?" Shadow asked, unsure of what he meant. Tails told him about the battle against Eggman and Chaos. Shadow nodded, interested to learn about the real Chaos. He had encountered Artificial Chaos on the ARK, so he was eager to hear more. Amy put her glass down, and reached for the crystal. No one noticed that as she approached, the crystal started to glow. Her fingers brushed up against the smooth surface, and a blinding light erupted from the crystal. Everyone tried to shield their eyes from the blinding light, and Sonic thought he heard something fall over.

The light faded, and everyone blinked. It took a few minutes for Sonic's eyes to readjust. The blobs of color faded from his sight, revealing Amy passed out on the floor. Shadow dropped the crystal like a hot potato.

"What happened?" the black hedgehog asked.

"Some sort of energy discharge?" Tails guessed.

"Amy, you alright?" Sonic asked. Nothing.

"Amy? Wake up, Amy. Come on!"

Sonic tried everything, short of kissing the pink hedgehog, without luck. Amy was out cold.


	2. Vision

Author's Note: Hello all! I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate the input.

For everyone who read Ch.1, I regret to inform you that Sonic did not kiss Amy. Don't worry though, something does happen later.

Also, I hope that I don't scare people away with the Stargate references. Just trying to show that the characters have a life outside of being heroes.

I've got Spring Break all next week, so I won't be able to update. Even though I've finished the actual writing, I've learned that people get cranky when you post a whole multi chapter story in one day. I'm still in the editing phase, so don't hesitate to give opinions.

Kaylee: In short, enjoy the story.

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Chapter 2

Vision

"Where am I?" Amy asked. She was in a large city, but not Station Square. The buildings were a little more rounded, and there were no cars. The whole place was populated by hedgehogs. There was no sign of any humans anywhere.

None of the hedgehogs seemed to notice her. Amy felt a like she stood out, considering that they were dressed differently than she was. They wore clothes like ones she had seen in a museum. Some even had short swords on them, which confused Amy big time.

The last thing she remembered before finding herself here was being in Tails' workshop, with Sonic and Shadow. The black hedgehog was holding some sort of crystal, and Amy was reaching for it when there was a sudden burst of white light.

Speaking of Shadow, Amy noticed one of the soldiers looked just like him. It looked like he was in a hurry to get somewhere, too. Thinking quickly, she tried to get the black hedgehog's attention.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?" Amy asked. The black hedgehog stopped for a moment, looking at her like she just spoke a foreign language, then continued on his way. Amy fumed, thinking that he didn't care to even answer. She tried again several times, with various hedgehogs around the city. She got the same reaction each time, until she approached one that looked like a sailor. Amy smiled, thinking that he looked like Sonic.

"Could you tell me where I am?" Amy asked him. For a moment, he had the same look of confusion on his face, until he noticed her bracelets. A light must have turned on in his head, because he started walking towards a tall tower, motioning for Amy to follow. Remembering Amy's confused look, the sailor guessed that the pink, strangely dressed girl was lost. He stopped, and pointed at the ground.

"Terra Atlantis," he said, in Sonic's voice.

"Terra… Atlantis?" Amy repeated._ Terra means Earth, Atlantis…_ Amy's eyes widened. He was saying that this city was the lost city of Atlantis! This must be what Dr. Weir felt like on _StarGate: Atlantis_. The sailor continued to walk towards the tower, with Amy close behind.

They reached the base of the tower, and her guide smiled. He gestured towards the door, telling her to go in. Amy thanked him, even though she knew that he didn't understand a word she said, and opened the door. The interior was beautiful. Amy looked around wide eyed. Statues depicting mighty heroes, mostly hedgehog, were everywhere. It was then that she noticed her. An orange hedgehog was looking at a statue that bore a striking resemblance to Sonic, except for the sword in his hand. This girl was wearing a blue and white sleeveless shirt, at least that's what it looked like to Amy, and a skirt. Her quills were held down by a hair band, just like Amy had hers. She also had gold bracelets that looked just like hers.

"A knight possessing the speed of the wind…" the orange hedgehog said. Amy was surprised that she could understand her, and decided to try to talk with her. Besides, she had nothing better to do, and she was kinda limited on options.

"Um… hi," Amy said, getting her attention.

"Oh, hello," the orange hedgehog said, noticing Amy. Her eyes were a beautiful jade green.

"Could you tell me…"  
"This is the lost city of Atlantis, as it was before it disappeared."

Amy was confused. Then again, she always got confused whenever Tails started with his technobabble. There were so many questions, she didn't know where to start. The orange hedgehog seemed to sense this, and spoke up.

"My name is Kaylee. I am the princess of Atlantis. If you are here, then that means that you found the crystal key that I left in Echidna City," she paused, then smiled. "I see that my bracelets have been taken care of over the generations."

"Huh?" Amy took a closer look at one her bracelets. It looked _exactly _like the ones that Kaylee was wearing.

"They have been passed down from mother to daughter, haven't they?"

Amy nodded. She still didn't know where this was going.

"Your name is Amy?" Kaylee asked, surprising the pink hedgehog.

"How did you know?"

"Amy, you may find this hard to believe, but we are related. This means that that makes you princess of Atlantis."

Amy's jaw dropped. Princess? Of Atlantis? No way. But the proof was right there, on Kaylee's wrists. Kaylee walked over to Amy, and hugged her. Amy could tell that something was bothering the princess. Kaylee released her many-times-over-great granddaughter, and looked back at the statue of the legendary hero.

"Something wrong?" Amy asked.

"Amy, you need to know of the legend. I prayed that it would not come to pass, because it could threaten the life of one of my descendants. But if you are here, then that means that Atlantis is about to reveal itself once again," Kaylee said, then turned towards a nearby door, and walked through. Amy followed, wondering what she meant. Kaylee stopped in front of a large tablet. Amy looked up at it. It was written in an ancient language that she couldn't understand. Kaylee stepped up next to her, and started to read it.

_When the Great City rises again, the Great Evil will be restored, and thus, destroy all who stand before it. Though the Princess will challenge its power, alone her strength will fail. Only before the Might of the Seven, combined with the courage of a knight possessing the speed of the wind, will the Great Evil fall before the heir of the Great City._

Kaylee closed her eyes. There was more to it, and Amy needed to know. She sighed.

"In the center of the city, there is a large, crimson gem. This gem, what we call the Demon Ruby, is what contains the Great Evil."

"Like a prison?" Amy asked. Kaylee nodded.

"If the Ruby is shattered, Iblis will be released into the world," Kaylee sighed again. No one had spoken that name for generations. Iblis, the dark god of fire and destruction. It had taken years to track the thing down, and even longer to imprison in within the Demon Ruby.

"Amy, I will be by your side, should you need any help," Kaylee said suddenly. Amy was about to ask her what she meant, when she felt a sudden jolt. She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. It felt like she stuck a fork into an electrical socket.

Her eyes snapped open, and looked right into Sonic's eyes. The sapphire hedgehog looked concerned.

"You ok Amy?" he asked.


	3. Princess Amy?

AN: Through some wierd twist of fate, here's Ch. 3.

Kaylee: Or you asked to use the slow dial-up connection at home.

Rattler: -_- The one downside to Spring Break...

Still, connections aside, here it is. Enjoy and review. I should be able to post Ch. 4 next week. Maybe even Ch. 5.

Kaylee: Shut up Rattler, and let them read the story.

Rattler: -_-

* * *

Chapter 3

Princess… Amy?

Amy shook her head. Sonic helped her up to her feet. Tails had a concerned look on his face. Shadow had gone back to examining the crystal, after coming to the conclusion that it was the source of the blinding light. Amy thought for a moment about the dream, or vision, or whatever you want to call it.

"Um, guys… what do you know about Atlantis?" she asked, hoping not to sound crazy. Sonic had a blank look on his face. He then remembered that Wave was talking to Jet about a city called Atlantis. Tails was the first to respond.

"Other than what I know from the TV show, Atlantis was a city that was said to exist centuries ago. The city disappeared for no apparent reason. Some stories say that Atlantis sank to the bottom of the ocean. Why?"

"I think," Amy replied, "that my family originally came from Atlantis."

Tails and Shadow looked at her, confusion clearly shown on their faces. Sonic continued with the blank stare. _Well, here comes the bombshell._ Amy thought.

"Not only that, but I think that my ancestor was an Atlantian princess."

"Which would make you…" Sonic started to say.

"Princess of Atlantis," Amy finished.

Sonic and Tails looked at each other, then burst out laughing. Shadow looked like he was having a hard time keeping a strait face. After about a minute, he too burst out laughing. Out of frustration, Amy pulled out the Piko Piko Hammer, and knocked everyone out. She realized what she did, and put a hand on her face.

"Great, now I have to wait till somebody wakes up," she said to herself.

* * *

A screen came to life, displaying a map. A gloved hand reached out, and pushed a button. A red dot appeared near an island, and the screen zoomed in on the location. The hand reached up, and started to stroke a bushy moustache.

"So, Atlantis is near Angel Island," Dr. Eggman said, "The Atlantians were quite advanced for their time."

His plan was simple, find Atlantis, and use the city's secrets to help him conquer the world. He had heard stories that Atlantis possessed a large gem, similar to the Master Emerald. If he could find it, and harness its power, even that blue runt, Sonic, would be unable to stop him. Eggman laughed, unaware that his computer network had been hacked.

* * *

Wave looked over the data from Eggman's computer. She was a better mechanic than a hacker, but she had no trouble breaking through the scientist's security. After talking it over with Jet, and getting frustrated with Storm, the swallow got to work.

"So, Atlantis is near Angel Island. Thanks Doc," a voice came from behind her. Wave turned, and saw Jet. He had been looking over her shoulder.

"That's what he said, too," Wave said with a smile. Not only had she hacked into Eggman's network, but his security cameras as well. Jet smiled, thinking of the treasure that the Atlantians could have left behind. But there was something bothering the hawk. He vaguely remembered a story that his father told him.

_"Jet, come here for a moment."_

_A younger, cockier Jet approached the older hawk. The Leader of the Babylon Rogues rested a hand his son's shoulder._

_"There is something you need to know."_

_"What?" Jet asked._

_"Centuries ago, when the Babylon Rogues served the Emperor of Babylon, there was a great city populated by hedgehogs."_

_Jet snorted. Hedgehogs. He never really liked them. His father ignored him, and continued._

_"This city was called Atlantis. They had captured a powerful evil, and imprisoned it inside a large gem."  
"The Master Emerald?"_

_"No. This gem was a ruby. The Atlantians had a legend, about the return of the evil being. The city would rise from the depths, and it would escape."_

_"What is it? And why did the Atlantians capture it?"_

_"Its name has been lost to the ages. However, it was said to be a god of destruction. It is said that only the princess has the power to destroy the dark god, but only with the help of one with the speed of the wind."_

_"The speed of the wind? What does that mean?"  
"I don't know Jet. Both the Babylonians and the echidnas have similar legends. Both mentioning a princess, a hero with the speed of the wind, and the 'might of the seven'."_

"Jet? Hello?" Wave was about to smack him across the face.

"Sorry, I was just remembering something my dad told me," he said. Jet put a hand on Wave's shoulder. She knew that something was bothering him, but decided not to ask.

* * *

Sonic woke up first. Amy didn't notice, and continued to examine the softly glowing crystal. For a moment, Sonic thought he saw an orange hedgehog standing next to her.

"Ugh."

Sonic recognized that sound as Tails. The two tailed kit put a hand on his head, probably wondering what hit him. Shadow groaned as well.

"Amy, did you hit us with your hammer?" Shadow asked.

"Sorry," she said.

A couple hours after recovering from Amy's frustration, Tails was back on the computer. He managed to find a close up of the tablet that archeologists found in the Mystic Ruins. The symbols did match the ones on the crystal. Unfortunately, without any reference material, he couldn't translate the text. Amy was watching episodes of _StarGate: Atlantis_, hoping that maybe she could learn more, despite the fact that in the show Atlantis was in a different galaxy. Sonic poked his head in just in time to watch a Wraith, an alien species in the show, pick up a radio, and have a grenade blow up in his face. Shadow had tried to tell Amy that there would be no connection between the TV Atlantis and the real Atlantis, without any luck. After the pilot episode, he gave up. He was sitting in a chair, watching the show.

"This is hopeless," Tails exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "There's no way I can translate this stuff."

"Keep at it Tails," Sonic assured him, "You'll figure it out."

There was a knock at the door. Tails got up, stretching as he went. He opened the door, allowing a familiar red echidna in.

"Glad you could make it Knuckles," Tails said with a smile. Sonic had no idea what was going on, then remembered that, after practically twisting the echidna's arm off, Knuckles had gotten a cell phone. Tails must have called him, hoping that the Guardian of the Master Emerald might be able to help with their current situation. Knuckles greeted the young kit in his usual short and to the point style. Sonic joined the pair as they got to the computer.

"Sonic," Knuckles greeted the hedgehog.

"Nice to see you again Knuckles," Sonic said with a smile.

Tails then proceeded to tell Knuckles what was going on. When he got to the part with Amy being an Atlantian princess, Knuckles tried to keep a straight face. He knew Amy just as well as the others, and couldn't picture the pink, energetic hedgehog as royalty. Good thing Amy was too busy watching TV, because Knuckles couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing. Tails waited patiently, while Sonic expected a hammer to come flying out of the living room. No flying hammers, a good sign. Knuckles recovered from laughing, and Tails continued.

"So, you think I could help translate?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, it's worth a try. You've spent a lot of time in the Mystic Ruins, maybe you can recognize something," Tails said.

Knuckles agreed, and looked over the picture on the monitor. Tails walked over to Sonic. The hedgehog was out of his element, preferring running over research. Tails, although skilled at research, preferred flying the _Tornado_, feeling the wind in his face. He also liked working with tools. After a couple minutes, Knuckles said that he couldn't translate anything.

"I do remember finding a door though," he said, "Many of these symbols look like the ones on the door. Maybe they're related."

"Sounds like a road trip to me," Sonic said.

**

* * *

  
**

Eggman's fingers played across the console in front of him. The Egg Sub approached the coordinates, ready for anything. Designed for underwater combat, the Egg Sub was one of the Doctor's vehicles that hadn't seen very much use. The sensors picked up something massive. Eggman grinned, looking over the specs.

"At last, the lost city of Atlantis. Now to bring some light to the situation," Eggman said. He flicked a switch, and bright spotlights came to life outside the sub. The lights revealed tall spires that were clearly not natural. There was no sign of coral, which surprised Eggman. Normally, if something has been underwater for a long time, a coral reef would form around the object. These structures remained coral free, looking like they had only recently been submerged. The sensors also detected pockets of air inside the city, with the largest being at the heart. He pushed a button, and a hatch opened. Several robots emerged from the Egg Sub, each one designed for underwater combat and recon. The Aquabots, propelled by spinning rotors, approached the sunken city. They would secure the area, and find a suitable place for Eggman to pop the main hatch, and explore the city himself. It would only be a matter of time before he, Dr. Eggman, claimed the power of Atlantis for himself.

* * *

AN: Yes, the necessary evil of Dr. Eggman is here as well. We'll have fun with him later.


	4. Secret of the Ruins

AN: Hello all. Chapter 4's up!

Kaylee: You just made the readers happy.

Rattler: That's my job. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4

Secret of the Ruins

Knuckles led the group through the forest. Their destination, the Mystic Ruins. Amy had asked Tails to bring the crystal, just in case they needed it. She still found it hard to believe that she was the princess of Atlantis, and was still trying to poke holes in the mysterious Kaylee's story. So far, no luck. Her bracelets were indeed passed down from mother to daughter, and they did look _exactly_ like the bracelets that Kaylee wore in the dream. The resemblance between herself and Kaylee was remarkable as well. If Sonic and the others had seen Kaylee, they probably would have sworn that she was her sister or something. A hand touched her shoulder, and Amy jumped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Sonic said.

Amy just looked him in the eye and shrugged. What if Sonic and the others started to treat her differently because of her royal status?

"Amy, could you please explain why you think you're an Atlantian princess?" Shadow asked. Clearly, the question was on everyone's mind. Knuckles had stopped, and turned to face the hedgehogs. Tails sat on a nearby stump, eager to listen.

"First, what happened with that bright flash?" Amy asked.

"I think it was a massive energy discharge form the crystal. All of us were blinded, and the next thing we knew, you were out cold," Tails said.

"Well, after the flash, I found myself in this beautiful city full of hedgehogs," Amy started to explain.

"A city full of hedgehogs?" Shadow asked.

"Yea," Amy replied, "One looked like you, and another looked like Sonic. They were all speaking in a language I couldn't understand. I was able to pick up two words though."

Tails' ears perked up. "Which words?"

"_Terra Atlantis_."

Tails thought about that for a moment. Why would some hedgehog in a dream say that? Then it hit him.

"He was referring to the city!" Tails exclaimed.

Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles had blank looks on their faces. Tails sighed, then explained that the Atlantians must have used that as a formal term, like Washington D.C.

"Kinda like how the ARK is also called Space Colony ARK, right?" Sonic asked. Tails nodded. Amy decided to continue.

"Sonic's look alike led me to this tall tower, and I went inside. There were a lot of statues of what must have been heroes. One actually looked like you, Sonic. It was then that I saw her."

"Who?" Knuckles asked.

"Princess Kaylee," Amy answered, "She's an orange hedgehog…"

"Wearing a blue and white shirt and skirt?" Sonic finished.

Amy looked at the blue hedgehog, surprised that he knew what the Atlantian princess looked like. She asked him about it, and he explained that he thought he saw someone that matched her description earlier on the beach. Tails looked like he was staring off into space, when in fact he was the only one to notice the orange spark hovering near a tree. It reminded him of the orange spark during the Chaos Incident, which turned out to be the spirit of Tikal. The orange spark changed into the form of a young hedgehog girl, about fifteen years old, wearing a blue and white sleeveless shirt and a skirt. The others were still talking about Amy's dream, and didn't notice. Tails got up off the stump, and cautiously approached the orange hedgehog. She was watching Amy and the others, almost as if she was worried something would happen to them.

"Hello?" Tails said, making the orange hedgehog jump. She turned to face Tails, looking like she was just caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Um… hello," she said, sounding nervous.

"By any chance, is your name Kaylee?" Tails asked.

"How do you know my name?" the hedgehog asked.

"Amy told us. Maybe you should meet the others," Tails said.

"So… the Atlantians had some legend about some Great Evil rising from the Great City?" Shadow asked, "Didn't these people use words other than 'great' to describe things?"

The comment made Amy chuckle. She hadn't thought about that.

"Kaylee also mentioned a knight possessing the speed of the wind, and something called the 'might of the seven'," Amy said.

"And without those, the princess doesn't stand a chance against the Great Evil."

Everyone looked at Amy, thinking that she spoke. Amy shook her head.

"Don't look at me," she said.

"If you didn't say anything, than who…" Shadow voice trailed off.

Amy turned in the direction Shadow was looking, and saw Tails standing behind her with…

"Kaylee?" Amy asked in shock. The Atlantian princess smiled, and hugged her.

"It's good to see you, Amy," she said, releasing the pink hedgehog. Sonic and Knuckles had their jaws on the ground. Shadow tried not to look it, but he was just as surprised as the others. Tails explained that he saw her while they were talking. Kaylee looked over the group.

"An echidna, a blue hedgehog, and a two tailed fox…" she said to herself.

"You forgot about Shadow," Sonic pointed out.

Kaylee blinked. The black hedgehog crossed his arms over his chest. He was the only one that wasn't in that weird dream that she had back in Atlantis.

"Alright, I already know Amy. So… who are you?" Kaylee finally asked. Tails decided to start.

"My name's Miles Prower," he introduced himself, "My friends call me Tails."

"Shadow," the black hedgehog said flatly.

"The name's Knuckles," the echidna said.

"And I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," the blue hedgehog said with a smile.

Kaylee thought for a moment. There was something about Sonic that seemed familiar. The first time she actually saw him was on the beach. Before she could say anything, Knuckles suggested that they continue. For over half an hour, the group picked its way through the forest, until they reached a clearing. Kaylee gasped.

"Echidna City!" she exclaimed.

"Well, here we are. The Mystic Ruins," Sonic said.

Knuckles led the group through the ruins, then came to a stop in front of one of the structures. Sonic looked up at it, and whistled. Inside was what looked like a large, heavy stone door with markings that matched the tablet and the crystal. There was also a round hole that looked like something could fit inside it. Tails examined the hole, thinking that it was the same size as the crystal. On a hunch, Tails inserted the crystal. It fit perfectly.

"Ok… now what?" Sonic asked.

Tails shrugged, then tried to turn the crystal. It didn't move an inch.

Shadow rolled his eyes, told Tails to step aside, and reached for the crystal. He was as successful as Tails. Again, the crystal refused to move. Kaylee looked at Amy, as if she wanted to say something.

"Move over Shadow," Amy said. The black hedgehog stepped back, not willing to meet the business end of Amy's hammer, and Amy reached for the crystal. As soon as her fingers brushed up against it, the crystal started glowing. Thinking that it was a good sign, Amy tried to turn the crystal. To everyone's surprise, she turned it a full one-eighty. Something inside the door shifted, and the door slid aside. Amy stood dumbfounded in front of the now open passageway.

"Maybe you've got an ATA gene," Tails mused. Ancient Technology Activation. Tails smiled, thinking about the parallels they kept finding between the TV show and their current situation. Everyone, especially Amy and Kaylee looked at the two tailed kit. Tails shrugged.

"What's an ATA gene?" Kaylee asked, clearly confused.

"It's from a TV show," Amy explained. Kaylee still had a blank look on her face.

"The door and the crystal key were designed to respond only to the princess of Atlantis," Kaylee finally said.

"But what's this doing in the Mystic Ruins?" Knuckles asked.

Kaylee explained that after Atlantis disappeared, the ancient echidnas provided her with shelter and food. She even explained that she was a good friend of the chieftain's daughter, Tikal. Kaylee led the group down the passageway, conjuring up an orange spark to provide light. Tails figured that since she was a spirit, like Tikal, she could do that. What was bugging the two tailed kit though was the fact that Kaylee seemed to be able to interact with the environment a lot more than Tikal was able to. He asked her about it, but Kaylee just said that it was a long story.

They entered a large chamber. The little spark hovering above Kaylee's hand faded out, leaving them in the dark.

"Somebody hit the lights," Sonic said sarcastically.

As if on cue, torches set into the walls burst to life, their flames lighting the chamber. In the center of the room was a stone pedestal with a sword sticking out of it. Along the back wall was a large mural portraying what looked like a big battle. There were two hedgehog-like figures, one wielding a sword, facing off against what looked like a flaming hand. One of the hedgehogs was portrayed in gold, while the other was in ruby. Next to the mural was what looked like the tablet from her dream. Sonic looked at the mural, feeling like he'd seen it somewhere before. Knuckles thought it reminded him of the murals depicting the out of control Chaos. Tails just thought that it was creepy. Kaylee rested a hand on Amy's shoulder. She looked worried.

"Something wrong?" Amy asked.

"We still don't know who the 'knight possessing the speed of the wind' is, or what 'the Might of the Seven' means," Kaylee sighed.

Shadow looked at the sword, clearly interested in its design. Tails asked about what they were talking about. Amy looked back at the tablet.

_When the Great City rises again, the Great Evil will be restored, and thus, destroy all who stand before it. Though the Princess will challenge its power, alone her strength will fail. Only before the Might of the Seven, combined with the courage of a knight possessing the speed of the wind, will the Great Evil fall before the heir of the Great City._

Everyone looked at Amy with confusion clearly plastered on their faces.

"What?" she asked.

"You can read that?" Sonic asked.

Amy blinked. She didn't know where that came from. She had heard someone reading the tablet, and thought that it was Kaylee. Then it hit her. She heard _her own_ voice reciting the legend. Amy looked back at the tablet. She was surprised that she could understand the ancient writing. She looked back at Kaylee, who had her hands behind her back and a guilty smile on her face. Shadow turned to face Kaylee.

"Your people really liked describing things with the word 'great'," he said.

"Hey, I didn't write the legend," Kaylee said in her defense, "It was those stuffy old wise men."

Tails thought about the legend. Something about it sounded familiar. The part about a knight possessing the speed of the wind sounded like Sonic. People back then didn't know the speed of sound, so the wind would be the fastest thing. The "Might of the Seven" part still bugged him. Looking back at the mural, he saw seven objects surrounding the two hedgehogs. Looking closer, he saw that they were in seven different colors: red, blue, yellow, green, gray, cyan, and magenta. The shape of the objects looked an awful lot like…

"The Chaos Emeralds!"

Everyone turned to face Tails. The fox blinked, feeling like he was under a microscope. Regaining his composure, Tails explained his theory.

"I think that the 'Might of the Seven' is referring to the seven Chaos Emeralds. If you look closely at the mural, you can see seven gem shaped objects surrounding the two smaller figures. These gems are colored the same as the Chaos Emeralds."

"I never thought about that," Kaylee said, "But what about the Knight?"

"Well, I think that that could be Sonic," Tails said.

Kaylee looked at the sapphire hedgehog, and suppressed a laugh. Sonic looked like an ordinary hedgehog. There was no way he could possess the speed of the wind.

"Well, Shadow's just as fast as Sonic," Knuckles pointed out.

"Just as fast?" Shadow glared at the echidna.

"You're not exactly Knight material Shadow," Amy said, "More like a rogue."

"Neither is Sonic," Shadow said, crossing his arms.

"Sorry to interrupt, but what's with the sword?" Knuckles asked.

Kaylee looked at the weapon. She explained that it was crafted by an unknown civilization, and was found by the echidnas.

"They say that it belonged to an ancient king, and whoever is able to draw the sword from the…"

"I heard this story before," Sonic interrupted, "In fact, I think that story has been done to death."

Nobody noticed Tails reach for the hilt. The kit's fingers closed around the grip, and Tails pulled. The blade slid smoothly out of the rock. Everyone turned at the sound of metal sliding across stone, and saw a now gleaming sword in the hands of a dumbfounded Tails. The pedestal sat there as if nothing happened, just like it did for countless years. Tails continued to stare blankly at the blade.

"Um… what just happened?" Amy asked.

"I don't know! I just pulled and it came out!" Tails said franticly.

"All hail the mighty King Prower!" Sonic said sarcastically. He started rolling with laughter. Amy and Knuckles joined in. Shadow stared at the blade in awe. Kaylee rolled her eyes, barely containing a smile.

After Sonic recovered from his bout of laughing, everyone gathered around Tails to examine his new toy. Shadow never took his eyes off the blade, and whenever it moved, his eyes followed. Kaylee looked back at the mural. There was something that didn't look right. She stepped closer, conjuring another spark. The light revealed what looked like a narrow hole in a circle. She sent the spark inside, and it stopped about three feet in. It was as long as the blade on the sword…

"Amy," she called out.

"What's up?" Amy asked.

For a moment, Kaylee didn't understand what the young princess meant. Then it hit her. Amy wanted to know what was going on. She explained that the mural may in fact be another door, and that the sword was the key.

_If that's true,_ Kaylee thought. _Then the legend of Iblis's return has influenced more then just hedgehog and echidna civilizations._

"What was the fox's name again?" Kaylee asked.

"Tails," Amy replied.

Kaylee then called out to Tails, asking him to bring the sword. Tails saw the hole that she was examining, and had an idea about what the spirit hedgehog was gonna ask. He stuck the sword, blade first, into the hole. It stopped as it reached the hilt. Tails, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, started to turn the sword. To everyone's surprise, the mural shifted, revealing yet another passageway. Kaylee's eyes were almost as big as her head. She was just as surprised as everyone else. Tails pulled the sword out of the wall.

"I'll go first," Shadow said, pulling out a pistol. Where he had stashed the weapon in the first place was anybody's guess, but nobody argued with the black hedgehog.

* * *

Kaylee: Finally, my entrance.

Rattler: Yes, Kaylee is a part of the story. Hope you liked the humor. If anyone's curious as to what Kaylee's outfit looks like, I based it on Cassandra's Player 1 outfit from Soul Calibur 2. If you prefer Sophitia's outfit from the same game, feel free to picture that instead.

Kaylee: Shut up Rattler. Anyway, please review, and give opinions on how the characters are turning out. I'd also like to hear opinions on me. And next chapter will have... Mmfff. O.O

Rattler: *Ducktapes Kaylee's mouth* You'll just have to wait and see.


	5. Showdown

AN: You ask. I deliver.

Kaylee: You don't ask, he still delivers.

Rattler: Very funny... Still, here's chapter 5. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 5

Showdown

Shadow checked the clip, and slid it back into the pistol's grip. Kaylee looked at the weapon, unsure of how it would work. The passageway loomed ahead of them. Just like the previous hallway, it was dark and foreboding. Shadow looked at Kaylee. She got the message, and conjured up another spark. The black hedgehog led the way, followed closely by the Atlantian hedgehog. Amy walked next to Sonic and Tails. Knuckles brought up the rear. Tails carried his new sword in both hands, ready for anything but not sure how to use it.

The group continued for another five minutes before entering another chamber. Kaylee's spark faded, and they found themselves once again in the dark. Amy was nervous.

"You know, this staying in the dark is starting to get old," Sonic muttered.

"Yea," Kaylee agreed, hearing Sonic's comment, "It is getting old."

Suddenly, torches came to life, making everyone jump. Shadow looked around the chamber, the gun following his gaze. They were in a large chamber deep inside the structure. Tails examined one of the torches, trying to figure out how they lit themselves. Something didn't feel right. Amy's Piko Piko Hammer appeared in her hand.

"At last… The heir of the Great City has come."

Everyone jumped. Amy tightened her grip on her hammer. Sonic looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Kaylee stepped back from the center of the chamber as a shadow formed. Without thinking, Shadow got in front of Kaylee to shield her. The shadow coalesced into the form of a fox. Tails lowered his new sword. The shadow fox looked at the group with glowing eyes, examining each person closely. It hesitated when it saw Tails.

"So, young one, you now wield the spirit sword," it said. Tails blinked. He had no idea what the shadow fox was saying. The only spirit sword he knew about was Soul Calibur, and that was from playing the games. He was surprised to see that the sword had changed. It was lighter, allowing him to hold it in one hand, and looked just like Soul Calibur from the second game.

The shadow fox turned its attention to Amy.

"Welcome princess," it said, taking a bow.

"Who are you?" Amy asked, still holding her hammer.

"The Guardian," it replied.

"The Guardian of what?" Sonic asked sarcastically, "This hole in the ground?"

The Guardian whirled around, and slammed Sonic into the wall. It held him there and looked Sonic dead in the eye. Sonic glared right back.

"It would be best if you learned to show respect," the Guardian snarled. It raised a hand, and a sword appeared, the blade aimed at Sonic's chest. Tails was the first to react, striking out with his sword. The Guardian blocked the kit's attack with its sword, throwing Sonic into Shadow.

"Brave, young one, but clumsy," the Guardian said, flinging Soul Calibur, and Tails, into the wall. Shadow pushed Sonic off of him, and fired several rounds into the Guardian. Not used to guns, the Guardian was caught off guard. With a sweeping gesture, the Guardian slammed everyone into a wall.

"Fools. You have no idea what you are facing," the Guardian said.

"Leave my friends alone!"

The Guardian turned, and saw the business end of Amy's hammer a split second before it slammed into the Guardian's face. Amy was somehow unaffected by the Guardian's attack, and saw everyone get slammed into a wall. To say that she was pissed off would be an understatement. The Guardian picked itself up off the ground, and summoned its sword. Amy grasped her hammer in both hands, ready to strike.

"Show me your power, Princess of Atlantis," the Guardian said.

Sonic couldn't move. An invisible force had him pinned against the wall. Even Kaylee, who was supposed to be a spirit, was pinned. The only one that escaped the attack was Amy. He was no expert, but Sonic knew that hammer against sword was not exactly a good match up. Then again, Sonic knew how skilled Amy was with that hammer. She was downright scary when she was angry, able to demolish anything that got in her way, and Sonic knew _that_ from experience. Shadow was fuming, his pistol resting on the ground underneath him. Sonic looked around the chamber, and it hit him. It looked like an arena. The Guardian was here to fight.

"Hey Kaylee, you know what's going on?" he asked, trying to confirm his theory.

"It must be some sort of test," she replied, gritting her teeth.

If looks could kill, then the one Tails was giving the Guardian would have vaporized it. Sonic wondered why the Guardian took on the form of a fox. He didn't have long to think about it as the battle started.

The Guardian charged at the pink hedgehog, sword raised. Amy rolled out of the way, and lashed out with her hammer. The shadow fox blocked the attack with its sword, then struck back. The blade narrowly missed Amy's head as she ducked underneath the swing. She slammed the top of her hammer into the Guardian's stomach, knocking it back a few feet. It recovered, then charged at her again. Amy rolled to the right, and swung her hammer as hard as she could. The hammer connected with the Guardian's side, sending it into a nearby wall.

"Very good, princess," the Guardian said as he recovered, "But not good enough."

The shadow fox raised its free hand, and a ball of energy formed in its palm. Amy's eyes widened as the energy ball came flying at her. She dodged it, and charged at the Guardian. Sword met hammer, and sparks went flying. Amy gritted her teeth as she fought to hold the sword away from her head. The shadow fox grinned, and shot an energy ball at her, point blank. Amy was thrown through the air and slammed into the wall. She got to her feet, and narrowly avoided another energy ball. It was then that Amy got an idea. She smiled, thinking that it was a plan that Sonic would have come up with. The Guardian was charging up another energy ball. This time, she didn't jump away.

"Batter up!" she cried, swinging her hammer like a Baseball bat.

The energy ball connected with the hammer, and was sent flying back at the Guardian. Surprised by the unexpected tactic, the shadow fox couldn't react in time. The energy ball slammed into its chest, sending it flying into the wall. Amy approached the fallen Guardian, ready to smack it back to the ground. The shadow fox saw Amy stand over it, and smiled.

"You have shown your power," it said, getting to its feet, "You have passed the Test of Combat."

Amy was caught off guard, and lowered her hammer. This whole thing was a test? The Guardian made a gesture, and her friends were released. Shadow grabbed his pistol, and aimed it at the Guardian's head. Kaylee pulled Shadow's gun arm down, shaking her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said.

The Guardian didn't notice Shadow's actions. It turned to face Tails. It explained that the sword he had changes shape according to its wielder. The fact that it took on the form of Soul Calibur was unexpected. Tails listened intently, wanting to hear more. As it turned out, the sword was forged by the same person who had created the Guardian.

"Wait a minute," Sonic interrupted, "Who created you?"

"The greatest summoner from the Fox Kingdom," the Guardian said in a matter of fact tone. Kaylee's jaw hit the ground. She had heard stories of a Fox Kingdom, but none of them were confirmed. Kaylee decided to have a _long_ talk with Tikal later. The Guardian continued to explain that it was created to prepare the Princess of Atlantis for the coming battle against Iblis. Amy blinked, unsure where that name came from. Sonic felt like he heard it somewhere before, but couldn't put his finger on it.

"Your courage stems from your love of your friends. Yet that alone will not be enough. You must gather the Seven. Only with their power, and the hero with the speed of the wind, can you finally destroy Iblis," the Guardian finally said.

"The Seven being the seven Chaos Emeralds, right?" Tails asked. The Guardian nodded.

"You must also seek out the Princess of Fire. Her power may help in the coming battle."

"Where can we find this 'Princess of Fire'?" Shadow asked. The Guardian made a gesture, and a hidden door opened.

"The key to her world lies within."

"Her world?" Sonic asked, confused. Then it hit him. Another world, princess, fire… there was only one person that the Guardian could be referring to.

"The Princess of Fire is also the guardian of the seven Sol," the Guardian said, confirming Sonic's hunch. The shadow fox was talking about Blaze the Cat. The last time Sonic saw her was when he and Tails were sent to her world. Together, with the help of Marine the Raccoon, they were able to end a pirate threat and stop Eggman and Eggman Nega from conquering the world. Tails caught on as well. Amy looked through the open door, and saw a scepter resting on an alter. It was a beautiful ruby color, with a round topaz on top. Amy reached over, grabbed it carefully, and picked it up. She half expected some sort of Indiana Jones trap to go off, but nothing happened. She stepped back out into the arena with the scepter in hand.

"So… how does this work?" Amy asked. The Guardian turned to face her.

"Raise the scepter, command it to open the portal, and step through," it said.

Amy shrugged, and raised it over her head. Since the Guardian didn't say anything about a special incantation or anything, she quite literally called out for it to "Open the portal!"

The topaz lit up, and a swirling, sapphire vortex formed in front of her. Tails whistled.

"I'm guessing that it works both ways, and the portal closes if I go through?" Amy asked. The Guardian nodded. Amy told everyone to go through first. Sonic looked at Tails.

"You think it'll hurt?" he asked.

"Oh yea," Tails deadpanned. He then smiled, and jumped backwards through the portal. Shadow and Kaylee followed the two tailed kit. Knuckles hesitated.

"You sure about this?" he asked Amy. She just looked at Sonic. The blue hedgehog smiled, and shoved Knuckles through the portal.

"See ya on the flip side," Sonic said with a smile. He then stepped through. Amy stood in front of the portal and took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing," she said as she stepped into the vortex.

* * *

Rattler: Before people start complaining about the presence of Soul Calibur, I like the design of that sword from the second game, and I don't know of any real swords with the split blade design.

Kaylee: Maybe because there aren't any real swords like that.

Rattler: True...


	6. Nice running into you again

Chapter 6

Nice running into you again

It was a beautiful day on Southern Island. Blaze the Cat leaned back in the sand. It had been a long time since she had a vacation, being a princess didn't allow for a lot of time off, and she decided it was about time. She gave orders to _everyone_ that she was _not_ to be disturbed… or else. At least a certain raccoon was nowhere…

"BLAZE!!!"

Blaze rolled her eyes. She knew it was too good to last. There was a young raccoon wearing a green shirt skidding to a halt in front of her.

"Hello Marine," Blaze deadpanned. She really did not want to deal with the hyperactive girl right now. The last time Blaze had to put up with Marine was when Sonic and Tails had found themselves in her world. Together they stopped Captain Whisker and his band of pirates, and put a stop to the Eggmen. Blaze smiled, thinking of how Sonic had to put up with Marine. It was then that Blaze noticed the change in Marine's expression.

"Crieky, what's that?" Marine asked, pointing at something.

Blaze got up and turned to look in the direction Marine indicated. There was what looked like a sapphire vortex forming in mid air. Blaze narrowed her eyes. Without saying anything, Blaze sped off in the direction of the rift.

"Oy, Blaze! Wait up!" Marine exclaimed, chasing the departing cat.

**

* * *

**

Sonic landed flat on his face. At least he landed on something soft. That something turned out to be Knuckles, who was on top of Shadow, Kaylee, and Tails.

Suddenly, Sonic was flattened by something landing on top of him. He heard Knuckles and Shadow grunt from the impact.

"Well, at least I landed on something soft."

"I appreciate the fact that you're alright, but… GET OFF!" Tails' voice was muffled.

Amy noticed that she was on top of a dog pile, and jumped to the ground. Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and Kaylee followed suit. Tails, finally free from the pileup, got to his feet. He was shaking sand out of his fur.

"Where are we?" Knuckles asked.

"A tropical island!" Amy exclaimed, hearts filling her eyes, "Isn't it romantic Sonic?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. At least they were on dry land. The question was, where? Shadow was eyeing their surroundings, looking for any possible threats.

Suddenly, a rather large fireball zipped passed the group. Sonic smiled, having a good idea what, or who the fireball was. The fireball stopped, revealing a familiar violet cat. Before he could say anything, something slammed into his back.

"Ow! Who put that there?"

Sonic moaned. He'd recognize that accent anywhere. He got up, and saw Marine rubbing her head. She looked up, and her eyes went wide.

"SONIC!" she exclaimed, "I've been goin' troppo without ya here!"

Everyone looked at the young raccoon like she was crazy, which, in Sonic's opinion, wasn't that far from the truth. He turned, and saw Blaze standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey Blaze. Long time no see," Sonic greeted the fiery cat.

"Sonic, what are you doing here this time?" she asked.

"Long story," Tails answered. It was then that Marine noticed the others. If there were walls, Marine would have been bouncing off of them. Shadow was getting irritated.

"Who's this… girl?" he asked, resisting the urge to shoot Marine.

"Girl!" Marine exploded, causing everyone except Shadow to step back, "You gonna treat me like any ol sheila!"

Tails rolled his eyes, and dragged Marine away from the black hedgehog, kicking and screaming. Sonic shook his head, a gesture shared by Blaze. Amy gave Blaze the evil eye, which translated to _back off sister, he's mine._

"I'm guessing that we're on Southern Island, so let's head over to Marine's house. We'll explain what's going on there," Sonic told Blaze.

**

* * *

**

Everyone gathered around in Marine's living room. The young raccoon had calmed down during the walk to her place. It seemed a litter bigger than Sonic remembered.

"So, what's yer names?" Marine asked, "I already know Sonic and Tails,"

"The pink hedgehog is Amy, the red echidna is Knuckles… and I don't know these two," Blaze said.

"Shadow," Shadow introduced himself.

"And I'm Kaylee," the orange hedgehog said. Blaze still didn't know that Kaylee was a spirit, although she felt real enough when Shadow landed on her.

"Fair dinkum! Well, any friend of Sonic's a friend of mine. The name's Marine," the raccoon said. She had already figured out that they knew Sonic. Amy was thinking that, because of her heavy Australian accent, she needed a translator for Marine. Kaylee had confiscated Shadow's pistol, to keep said hedgehog from putting the little girl out of _his _misery. Amy started explaining their situation to Blaze, who had asked Amy about the scepter that she was carrying. Not knowing Amy as long as the others, and being a princess herself, Blaze didn't burst out laughing when Amy spilled the beans about her royal status. Amy described her dream, Kaylee's appearance, and the fight with the Guardian. Blaze looked at Kaylee for a second, then back at Amy.

"So, you are the princess of a lost city, and you have to fight some powerful enemy in order to save your world," Blaze summarized. Amy nodded. Marine looked at Amy in confusion.

"You don't look like the princess type. Just your average sheila," she said.

"So you're saying I look like a normal girl?" Amy asked.

"Crieky, isn't that what I said?" Marine replied.

Sonic sighed. Kaylee took the opportunity to tell Blaze about the legend. Blaze's eyes narrowed when the orange hedgehog told her the name of the Great Evil.

"Iblis," she mused, "That name sounds familiar, but I don't know where I heard it."

"Yea," Sonic agreed, "I feel like I've heard that name before too. It's been bothering me for a while now."

"Iblis is said to be a dark god of fire and destruction," Kaylee explained.

"And Blaze has what we call pyrokinesis, which is the ability to control fire," Tails added.

Kaylee started grilling Tails about pyrokinesis, while Marine was listening to Amy talk about Sonic. Blaze saw Sonic go out the door, and followed him. She found him standing on the beach, looking out across the sea. Something was bothering him, and he didn't want anybody to notice. She approached the hedgehog with a concerned look on her face.

"Is something wrong Sonic?" Blaze asked.

"Eh, it's this whole 'Amy's a princess' thing. I know she can handle herself in a fight, but I'm worried that something bad is gonna happen to her," he explained.

Blaze thought about it for a moment. Sonic cared about his friends, even Amy. He was worried that, in some upcoming battle, Amy might not survive. Blaze put a hand on Sonic's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Sonic. As long as you're around, nothing bad will happen to Amy," she told him.

Sonic thought about it for a minute, then smiled.

"Thanks Blaze," he said.

Blaze thought about what to do about their current situation. She didn't know what to make of Amy's story, but she did know of someone who might. He was one taco short of a combo plate though, so Blaze was reluctant to mention him. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, and lack of information about this Atlantis and Iblis called for a chat with a crazy old owl.

"I may know someone who can tell us more," Blaze finally said.

* * *

AN: I knew watching Crocodile Hunter would come in handy one of these days.

Kaylee: Helped with Marine?

Rattler: Yup. That, and I have Sonic Rush Adventure. Used that as a reference as well.


	7. The perfect Advisor

Chapter 7

The perfect Advisor

"I don't know how reliable he will be, but he is wise," Blaze had said on the trip to Coral Island. Amy had spent the trip talking with Kaylee, while Marine was perched behind the prow of the ship. They now stood outside a rather plain looking house with a nice garden. Sonic walked up to the door and knocked.

"For crying out loud! I moved out here to get away from you people!"

Sonic blinked. That was an unexpected response. Shadow looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. Blaze rolled her eyes, stepped up to the door, and knocked.

"Alright! I'm coming!"

The door opened, revealing a very irate owl wearing a blue robe. He looked over the group. His eyes widened as soon as he saw Amy.

"Ah, royalty has come to my humble abode. Please come in," the owl said, motioning for the group to enter. Sonic looked at Blaze, then entered the house. They were led to a rather large living room. Sonic promptly claimed part of the couch, while the others found a place to sit. Blaze still seemed uncomfortable with this idea. The owl took a seat in a large recliner, and again looked over the group. One look from Shadow managed to keep Marine from bouncing off the walls. Probably had to do with when Marine had tried to challenge Shadow, only to get a threat of bodily harm if she _ever _annoyed him again.

"So young royal one, why seek you me?" the owl asked Amy.

"How do you know that I'm a princess?" Amy asked.

"I have eyes and ears. Royalty, said the wind. Concern, says your face," the owl said.

"Three frys short of a happy meal, says the hedgehog," Sonic mocked, stating what the others were thinking. The owl shot him a look, then returned his attention to Amy.

"I sense much confusion from you young one," the owl said, "Secrets you seek. The truth of your heritage, and the role you are to play in the coming battle."

Amy, along with everyone else, starred at the old owl in disbelief. No one had even mentioned why they were here, and the owl knew. Kaylee narrowed her eyes. It was as if she could sense that the owl was hiding something, and she decided to confront him about it. The owl did not seem surprised by Kaylee at all.

"It seems that I cannot fool you Princess Kaylee," he said, shocking everyone. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Regal, and I have been expecting you for some time now. And I am not crazy, Sonic the Hedgehog, despite how I act."

Regal turned back to Amy, and said that he knew exactly why she was there. He explained that he was in fact a friend of Blaze's family, and had moved to Coral Island to get away from people trying to sell him stuff. Blaze nodded, although she had thought that he was crazy, considering the fact that every time she had seen him, he acted like he was insane. Regal explained that he acted that way to keep people off balance, and to amuse himself. He then turned to Blaze.

"The reason the name Iblis seems familiar to you, and to Sonic, is because both of you have fought Iblis before," he said.

"I don't think so. I think I would remember facing off against Iblis if I did," Blaze shot back.

"Ah, that is because those events never took place. Before you say anything, let me explain. In another timeline, Sonic here went to a city called Soleanna, where he met Princess Elise. Events were set in motion by a dark being called Mephiles to resurrect Solaris, the god of Soleanna. In this timeline, you, Princess Blaze, came through time along with another named Silver in order to prevent Iblis from being released. After the final battle against Solaris, you, Sonic, were taken back in time with Elise to when Solaris was just a small flame. Elise blew out that flame, which erased these events, as they would never happen. I believe that, due to your ability to control the Chaos Emeralds of your world, and Blaze's ability to utilize our Sol Emeralds, somehow you retained certain memories of these events from that timeline."

Everyone had the same blank look on their faces. Tails thought about it for a moment. There was still so much about the Chaos Emeralds that remained a mystery. Were they, and the Sol Emeralds, able to transcend time? It was the only thing that would make sense, but memories from a timeline that doesn't exist? Regal then started to talk about Amy's family, starting from when Kaylee had, unknowingly, escaped moments before Atlantis sank. Kaylee still glared at the old bird. She saw the confused look on the young kit's face. Kaylee moved over to him.

"He's hiding something," she said quietly, "If this is another world, how would he know all of this?"

"I was just starting to think that myself," Tails replied, "Atlantis doesn't exist in this world, yet this guy seems to know everything about it."

For a moment, Kaylee's eyes unfocused. Suddenly she cried out as if she was in pain. Shadow actually jumped up and went to her side. Kaylee was holding her side like someone who was just stabbed.

**

* * *

**

"So, this is the treasure of Atlantis," Dr. Eggman said to himself as he gazed at the large, crimson gem. It glowed faintly in the darkness. With an evil grin, Eggman ordered his robots to claim his prize. The massive gem was lifted up off the stand, and it glowed brighter. A beam of crimson energy lanced out from the gem, and struck the first robot. Burning energy seemed to engulf the Egg Pawn, then leap to the next. Eggman looked on in horror as his robot minions dropped like flies. The last to fall were the ones carrying the gem. The gem fell, and shattered against the floor. Eggman brought an arm up to shield his face as fiery energy leapt from the shards, as if they were freed from their prison.

"What? What's happening?" he asked out loud. Suddenly, a deep voice filled with hate and malice filled the room.

"At last. After these countless centuries... I... am... FREE!!!"

The energy swirled around the fragments of the ruby. Fiery arms formed, followed by a demonic looking head. The creature, seeming to be made of fire, swept it's arms back, dispersing the swirling vortex. Three eyes opened as the beast straightened. Ignoring the cowering fat man, the creature extended it's arms.

"Arise, ancient city. Death and destruction shall reign, for I have returned. The world shall tremble before my might. None shall oppose the might of Iblis!"

**

* * *

**

"I don't get it," Wave said, looking out across the sea, "This is where Atlantis is supposed to be."

Jet sighed. The Babylon Rogues had used their Extreme Gear to get here, and here was in the middle of the ocean. Really good planning. They were now hovering over the water on their air boards, looking totally out of place. The water shifted beneath them.

"Hey! What's going on?" Storm asked, fighting to maintain his balance. Suddenly, a spire shot out of the water.

"MOVE!!!" Jet yelled. The trio powered up their boards, and shot away as more spires broke the surface. Jet looked back, and his jaw hit the board. A city was rising from the ocean. A wave hit them from behind, sending Storm into the water.

**

* * *

**

Tikal gasped. Even though she was a spirit, she felt a cold chill run through her being. Chaos, the watery creature that guarded the Master Emerald, took on humanoid form, and glared at something beyond the horizon. Something terrible had happened, something that shook even Chaos to his watery core. A power, unlike anything Tikal had ever sensed, had been released.

**

* * *

**

"Kaylee! What's going on? What happened?" Amy asked franticly. Shadow was holding the spirit hedgehog close. No one noticed this, as they were concerned with why she suddenly cried out. Kaylee shook in Shadow's arms as everyone gathered around the pair.

"Kaylee," Shadow said, getting her attention, "What happened?"

She looked him in the eye, fear clearly showing on her face.

"Iblis," her voice wavered, "Iblis has been set free."

* * *

AN: Cue cliffhanger complaints.

Kaylee: You're evil at times. You know that, right?

Rattler: Yea, I know. Hope you guys liked my take on the events of the Sonic 06 game, and why they don't know about Iblis. Gotta love time travel, and the headaches it causes.

Kaylee: How many aspirins did you need after this chapter?

Rattler: Two or three at least. Please review. I love opinions.


	8. Where's the Panic button?

AN: Hello all!

Kaylee: You like saying that, huh?

Rattler: Yea. Anyway, here's Ch. 8 Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8

Where's the "Panic" button?

Sonic gritted his teeth. He had a good idea who was responsible for this, intentional or not. Kaylee sat there, shaking. Shadow held on to her, uncertain as to what he should do. Tails noticed, and immediately asked a question that was in the back of Shadow's mind.

"This may not be the right time, but how is that possible?" he asked, indicating the fact that Shadow was holding a spirit hedgehog.

"It is because she is in fact a living spirit," Regal said suddenly, "By drawing upon the power of a Chaos Emerald, she can interact with her environment, and can even be touched by others."

"So, in other words, something happened to Kaylee that caused her body to phase shift, which has kept her alive?" Tails asked, going into technobabble mode.

"If I understand you correctly, in a manner of speaking yes," Regal said.

"But that doesn't explain how she could conjure up floating spark lights or zip around as one," Sonic pointed out.

Kaylee recovered, and looked up at the blue hedgehog. "I learned a few things from Tikal."

Everyone eyed Shadow. He just shrugged, then pulled out the green Chaos Emerald.

"Of course!" Tails exclaimed, "That's why you were able to interact with us like that. Shadow always has a Chaos Emerald on him."

"I'd hate to put a damper on this, probable, life altering discovery, but can we get back to the part about Iblis being released," Blaze said in a matter of fact tone. Amy looked around the room. Sonic was looking out the window, Tails was probably thinking of what could cause a phase shift, Knuckles looked like he wanted to bash something, Marine stood next to Blaze, and Shadow held Kaylee in his arms. Whatever was going to happen, Amy was determined to protect her friends. If Iblis was as powerful as everyone had heard, they definitely would need all the Chaos Emeralds. She knew for sure that Shadow had one, and Tails had another in the _Tornado. _That left five, and Amy wasn't sure if they would have enough time to find them. Fear and doubt took hold, and Amy had to leave the room.

Marine saw Amy leave, noting the pained expression on her face. For a moment, the young raccoon didn't know what to do. Knuckles noticed the confused look on her face, and approached her.

"Hey Marine, is something wrong?" he asked.

"Amy didn't look too hot just now," Marine replied, pointing in the direction the pink hedgehog went. Knuckles looked up, then turned to Sonic.

"Hey Sonic. You might want to check on Amy," he said.

Sonic turned his head, and saw that Amy was gone.

"Well, don't just stand there like a statue," Blaze shot at him, "Go talk to her."

Marine watched as Sonic walked out to look for Amy. She started to follow the blue hedgehog, but someone yanked on her tail, stopping the young raccoon in her tracks. That someone turned out to be Kaylee, who shook her head. This was something that Sonic had to do alone. Marine looked in the direction that Sonic went, then back at the orange hedgehog.

"Orright, I'll stay," Marine finally said.

**

* * *

**

Amy was looking out at the ocean when Sonic found her. He could tell from the way she stood that something was bothering her.

"You ok Amy?" he finally asked.

Amy turned around and looked at Sonic with watery eyes. She then latched on to him and started crying into his chest. Caught off guard, Sonic hesitated before wrapping his arms around her. For several minutes he stood there, comforting Amy.

"What's wrong Amy?" he finally asked. Amy looked up into his eyes.

"Sonic, for once, I'm really scared about what's going to happen," she answered, "I don't know if I can do this."

Sonic looked up into the sky. So this must be what its like, having time to think before a major battle. Soon, they would have to go back to their world and find the remaining Chaos Emeralds, while avoiding Iblis. This time Amy was in the hot seat, being the one who was supposed to fight Iblis, and it scared her half to death. He looked into her green eyes.

"You can do this Amy," he reassured her, "You're one of the strongest people I know, and the most caring. I believe in you Amy."

Amy wiped her tears away, looking right into Sonic's emerald eyes. He believed in her. But there was something else there as well, compassion. Sonic wasn't just putting up a front to reassure her, he truly meant it. Amy closed her eyes, and just held onto Sonic. For several minutes, they just stood there, holding each other.

"Hey Soni… is this a bad time?"

Sonic and Amy looked over and saw Tails standing there with a confused look on his face. Both hedgehogs blinked, looked at each other, and Sonic quickly detangled himself from Amy. He was bright red as he took a step away, trying to act like nothing happened. Amy looked at the ground, trying to hide a smile. Tails had a blank look on his face, almost as if he honestly didn't know what was going on.

"Shadow and I have come up with an idea on how to find the remaining Chaos Emeralds," Tails finally said. Amy's ears perked up.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yea," Tails replied, "I have a prototype Emerald Tracker back at my workshop. We could use that to find the remaining Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic looked troubled. Amy noticed, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"There are five emeralds left. We don't have the time to find them one at a time," Sonic said. He then snapped his fingers. "Tails, can you make four more trackers?"

Tails blinked. For a moment, he didn't know what Sonic was getting at. Then it hit him. Instead of going after each emerald one at a time, Sonic wanted to grab them all at the same time. Tails nodded, bringing a smile to the hedgehog's face. Sonic explained that they could get Rouge and the Babylon Rogues to help get the emeralds.

"Why them?" Amy asked, "Why can't we do it?"

"Odds are, since Iblis was released, we are going to be too busy with damage control," Tails explained, "Rouge is a skilled treasure hunter, and the Babylon Rogues are experts with Extreme Gear. Combine that with Sonic's speed, and those emeralds are as good as ours!"

"And if you want to help, you should learn how to handle your new sword."

Tails jumped. There standing behind him was Kaylee. Sonic and Amy laughed at the young kit's reaction. Kaylee had a determined look on her face. Tails nodded. He may know about swords, after playing several games with them, but he didn't know how to use one effectively, or at all for that matter. Regal had handed her a pair of practice swords after she told him of the spirit sword that Tails now possessed. She now handed one to Tails, and stepped back a couple feet.

"Ready Tails?" she asked.

"You know how to use a sword?" Tails asked, unsure about how this would turn out.

"I had to learn to defend myself," Kaylee replied, "I may be a princess, but I can still fight."

Kaylee took up a fighting pose, holding the wooden sword in one hand. Tails grasped his in both hands like a lightsaber, holding it in a defensive manner. Amy found a stick nearby, long enough to be used like a sword, and picked it up. Kaylee lunged at Tails. The young fox parried the attack out of reflex, and leapt back to put some space between him and the obviously skilled sword-wielding princess. Kaylee again lunged at him, and Tails took to the air. Kaylee smiled, as this was one of the things that she was hoping for. Having Tails back up his new sword skills with his natural abilities would give the two-tailed kit an advantage that anyone would envy. Tails dive-bombed Kaylee, who sidestepped the attack and countered with a swipe at his side. Tails just barely managed to block the attack as he skidded to a halt on the sand. He knew that this was just practice, but he also knew that he was outmatched. The only real advantage he had was the ability to fly, and he was going to use it. Again Tails took to the air. Kaylee braced herself, expecting another dive bomb. Seeing this, Tails smiled. The fox dove at her. Just as she moved to counter, Tails pulled up, kicking her sword out of her hand. Kaylee smiled as he landed.

"Didn't see that coming," she said.

"That's Tails for ya," Sonic said. The others had come outside and watched the sword match between Tails and Kaylee. Amy was busy sword fighting a nearby tree. Marine would have exploded with excitement, except for the looming presence of a certain black hedgehog. Sonic was actually grateful that Shadow was able to keep the young raccoon in check, and frankly, he didn't really care how he did it. Kaylee walked over to Amy.

"Amy, it's time," she said, getting the pink hedgehog's attention.

Amy turned to face her. She knew what that meant. They had to get back to their world. She asked Tails to get the scepter from the boat. While Tails was busy, everyone gathered around the royal hedgehog. After several minutes, Tails returned with both the spirit sword and the scepter in hand.

"Um… Tails? What are we gonna call that sword of yours?" Sonic asked, "I know it looks like Soul Calibur, but…"

"I don't know," Tails replied, "I guess we'll figure that out later."

Tails handed the scepter to Amy. She took it in both hands, and raised it over her head. They were all surprised to see the portal open without Amy saying anything.

"Let's hope that this time, we don't come out the other end in mid air," Knuckles said. Kaylee gave him a look that translated to _If you just jinxed it, you're toast._

Shadow stepped through first, followed by Kaylee, Tails, Blaze, and Marine. Again, Knuckles hesitated. Sonic rolled his eyes, and shoved the reluctant echidna. Knuckles lost his balance, and, arms flailing, fell into the portal. Sonic, with a smirk on his face, stepped through. Amy looked back at the tranquil beach. She closed her eyes and stepped into the portal, mentally preparing herself for a war.

**

* * *

**

Regal watched as the heroes entered the portal. He knew Kaylee suspected that he was hiding something, she just didn't know how right she was. He had watched the rise of Atlantis, and, centuries later, Kaylee's birth. Regal was no mere owl, he was a Guardian. One of the last surviving members of the Order of Light. Like the Order of Trisfal, the Guardians of Light were meant to protect worlds, like Azeroth and Earth, from evil. Atlantis was to be a bastion of hope on Earth, but after the city sank, Regal had lost hope for the sapphire world. Now it seems that, like Azeroth, Earth could take care of itself. The time of the Guardians had passed. Regal sat down in his favorite recliner, closed his eyes, and prayed for the safety of Princess Amy Rose.

* * *

AN: Please don't kill me for the WarCraft reference. I needed something to compare Regal too, and that was the only thing that came to mind.

Kaylee: Besides, Rattler doesn't play the online game anyway.

Rattler: Please review. I know I've said it already, but I love to hear opinions. See you guys next update!


	9. Captured in Flames

AN: This is it! This is it! Chapter 9!

Kaylee: O.O Wow, you're excited.

Rattler: Of course I am. This is where the fun begins.

* * *

Chapter 9

Captured in Flames

There was no sign of that irritating echidna anywhere. With a smile forming on her face, Rouge the Bat crept closer to the shrine of the Master Emerald. Nothing short of the impossible could stop her from claiming her prize.

Unfortunately for Rouge, the impossible happened. There was a strange sound. Rouge looked up, just in time to be flattened by a black object. Several more objects landed on top of that, pushing the thief deeper into the ground. After the last impact, Rouge opened her eyes. All she could see was… Shadow's shoe?

"Come out in mid air," someone, who sounded an awful lot like Sonic, said, "You just _had_ to open your mouth."

"Hey I wasn't the one driving!" Knuckles shot back, trying to shift the blame to Amy. Everyone was still in a dog pile on top of Shadow. Kaylee was resting her head on a hand, waiting for the argument to stop.

"Admit it Knucklehead! You jinxed it!" Sonic exclaimed, completely unfazed by the fact that Amy was sitting on his back. For several minutes, hedgehog and echidna argued. Kaylee couldn't take it anymore.

"For Guardian's sake, SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone immediately jumped, freeing both the spirit hedgehog and a very unhappy ultimate life form. Kaylee got up and offered a hand to Shadow. Knuckles saw what looked like a bat girl shaped hole in the spot that Shadow just vacated. Tails poked his head over the edge. What he saw made him jump. There, glaring daggers out of the hole, was a pissed off Rouge the Bat.

"You just gonna stand there like an idiot, or are you gonna help a lady out of a hole!" Rouge shot at the kitsune. Knuckles recognized that voice, and put a hand on his face. Tails pulled Rouge out of the hole, and immediately stepped back.

"Ok whose idea was it to flatten me?" Rouge demanded. She was glaring at all of them, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles (Especially Knuckles), Shadow, orange hedgehog she didn't know… wait, orange hedgehog? There, standing next to Amy, was an orange hedgehog who looked like she could be Amy's sister. There was also a violet cat and a brown raccoon present as well. The orange hedgehog noticed Rouge's expression change, and decided to introduce herself.

"My name's Kaylee…"

"She's my sister," Amy interrupted.

Rouge looked at the pink hedgehog with skepticism. She was hiding something. The cat introduced herself as Blaze. Suddenly, there was a brown dervish jumping around her.

"Crieky, you got a nice figure. I mean, those looks are ripper…"

Shadow grabbed the raccoon, who looked no older than Cream, by the tail and gave her a death glare. She immediately calmed down.

"Sorry about Marine," Sonic finally said, "She tends to be a little hyper at times."

Before anyone could say anything, several flaming objects slammed into the ground around the group. They watched in shock as the objects suddenly grew arms and legs. Shadow drew his pistol, positioning himself to cover Kaylee. Tails tightened his grip on the spirit sword, and Amy pulled out the Piko Piko Hammer. The newly formed lava monsters surrounded the group.

"Very convenient timing huh," Sonic said sarcastically.

"Iblis must have sent them," Kaylee stated through gritted teeth.

"So these are his goons?" Knuckles said, "This should be interesting."

One of the creatures lunged at Amy with flaming hands. Shadow was the first to react, firing several rounds into the attacking monster. The bullets seemed to have little effect. Amy swung her hammer, slamming it into the enemy. The other creatures lunged at them. Tails slashed at one, while Shadow resorted to homing attacks. Blaze used the flames that they had created to slam one into another. Rouge kicked the nearest one, splitting it in half.

"We don't have time for this!" Sonic yelled.

Shadow jumped into the air. Chaos energy coalesced around him. With a gesture, Shadow unleashed his Chaos Spear. Several creatures were hit by Shadow's attack, unable to withstand the force of the blast.

Sonic turned, and saw one of the surviving creatures approach Amy from behind.

"Amy! Behind you!" he shouted.

Too late. The monster grabbed her around the waist. Amy fought to break free from its grip. A column of flames erupted around the pair, and the monster, along with Amy, were gone. The remaining creatures also disappeared in flaming columns.

For several minutes, no one dared to speak. It was then that the purpose of the attack hit Kaylee. Iblis knew that only the Princess of Atlantis had the power to destroy him. Amy had just been captured. With her out of the way, there was nothing to stop Iblis from destroying everything.

"What just happened?" Tails asked slowly.

"If I had to guess, a kidnapping," Rouge stated.

Sonic closed his eyes. He wanted to hit something. Again, Amy was captured, but not by Eggman this time. Falling to his knees, Sonic planted his hands on the battle-scarred earth. Knuckles decided not to approach the blue hedgehog, expecting him to lash out at anything that got too close. Kaylee could see the pained expression on his face. They just got bushwhacked by Iblis, and now Amy was gone, taken to some unknown location.

"Now what?" Blaze asked.

Sonic dug his fingers into the dirt, taking a handful as he got up off the ground.

"Now, we finish what we started," Sonic's voice was filled with determination. "We find the other Chaos Emeralds. Then we find Amy, and we take out Iblis."

**

* * *

**

"What are we doing here?"

Jet's question hung in the air as the Babylon Rogues stood outside the door to Tails' workshop. After having a city come up from under them, Wave had led them here. She figured that the fox boy might be able to help in some way, she just hadn't figured out how. Wave was just about to knock on the door, when Storm said that he saw someone coming. Jet was able to make out the figures of three hedgehogs, a cat, a raccoon, a bat, a fox, and an echidna. The emerald hawk smiled as he saw that the lead hedgehog was blue. As soon as Sonic was close enough, Jet spoke up.

"Well it's about time you got here. By the way, where's your girlfriend?"

Sonic whirled around, and slammed Jet against the building. Tails' eyes went wide.

"Guess he needs to vent," he said to Blaze. The fiery cat could do nothing but nod her head in agreement.

"If you have to know, _Amy _was just captured by Iblis. So shut your beak already," Sonic growled. Storm and Wave just stood there, unable to believe what they just saw. Sonic finally released Jet, allowing the hawk to rub his neck. Tails decided to step in, and told everyone to follow him.

**

* * *

**

The bars were solid. Amy clung to them like a monkey, trying to force the door open. She had no idea where she was, but she didn't like being held prisoner by anyone. After several minutes of shaking, she let go of the door. Taking a step back, she pulled out her hammer. Or tried to. Nothing appeared in her outstretched hand. Out of frustration, Amy leapt back onto the bars.

"Save your energy, there's no way to open the cell door from this side."

Amy turned, and saw Dr. Eggman sitting in a dark corner. For a moment, panic threatened to take over, but she gritted her teeth and approached the evil genius.

"What are you doing here Eggman?" Amy demanded.

"I was captured by that flaming beast," Eggman explained. "Now that I think about it, it must have been sealed inside that ruby."

"You let Iblis out," Amy gasped.

"That is what it called itself," Eggman said to himself.

Frustrated, Amy walked over to the overweight scientist, grabbed his rather large mustache, and yanked him closer. She was not in the mood to deal with Eggman at the moment.

"Greetings, Princess."

The voice sent chills down Amy's spine. Letting go of Eggman, Amy turned back to the bars. There was nothing there. Amy crept closer, trying to identify the source of the mysterious voice. She had a very bad feeling about whose voice it was.

"Show yourself," Amy commanded, trying to hide the fact that she was scared.

Suddenly, a column of flame burst into existence, causing Amy to jump back. The vortex transformed into the figure of a hedgehog. The hedgehog seemed to be made of living flames. Its quills were even shaped like flames. The hedgehog opened its eyes, and Amy's blood went cold.

"It is an honor to meet you in person, Princess," the hedgehog said, taking a bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am…"

"Iblis," Amy finished. She did not like this at all.

"You have heard of me?" Iblis asked, confirming her bad feeling. Amy just glared at the fake hedgehog. This was the enemy, the one that she was supposed to take out.

"You're shorter than I expected," Amy quipped.

"I chose this form so as not to intimidate you," Iblis stated, "Tell me Princess, what do you think of your accommodations?"

"Why don't you come in here and find out?" Amy shot back.

Iblis laughed. It was a deep, evil laugh that made Amy _very _uncomfortable. Every bone in her body was telling her to get out of there, but there was nowhere to run. Amy stood her ground.

"You can't keep me locked up here forever Iblis," Amy said defiantly, "Sonic will…"

Iblis reached in and grabbed her by the throat.

"Your friends are powerless to stop me!" Iblis spat, "Not even Chaos himself can match my power!"

As if to prove his point, Amy could feel Iblis' hand start to heat up. Before the heat could singe the fur around her neck, Iblis let go. Amy gasped, collapsing to the floor. Iblis turned to leave, then stopped.

"By the way, welcome home Princess. Welcome to Atlantis."

* * *

AN: And so, we really meet Iblis.

Kaylee: Rattler, you are evil.

Rattler: Why?

Kaylee: ANOTHER cliffhanger.

Rattler: Oh... that...


	10. Hunt for the Emeralds

Chapter 10

Hunt for the Emeralds

Tails' head banged against the table. They were getting nowhere. Rouge, after learning the truth about Kaylee, was skeptical about the whole plan. Jet and the Babylon Rogues just had blank looks on their faces. Wave finally snapped out of it, turning her attention to the exasperated fox.

"So let me get this straight. Kaylee here is actually an ancient Atlantian princess who's been trapped as a spirit, Amy is her descendant, and this Iblis character is out to destroy the world?"

Tails lifted his head from the table. He nodded his head to confirm what she said. Sonic just kept looking out the window. An hour after they were ambushed, the sky had turned red, and not long after that, Westopolis was attacked. G.U.N. was out in force, but so far, they were unable to get the upper hand against Iblis' army of lava monsters.

"Iblis must have been what dad was talking about…" Jet said quietly.

"You say something?" Blaze asked, getting the emerald hawk's attention.

"Yea," Jet replied, "My father told me about Atlantis years ago. He described a dark god of fire and destruction. From what I've heard from you guys, I think he was talking about Iblis."

"We still need to find the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic finally said, "And where Iblis took Amy."

Tails again nodded, then pulled out what looked like one of those life signs detectors from _StarGate Atlantis_. He explained that the design inspired him to make the emerald tracker. Sonic took it from his friend, and looked it over. It was small enough to fit in his hand, yet sturdy enough to survive in a fight. Wave grabbed it out of Sonic's hand, looking over it herself. She had to admit, Tails knew his stuff.

"I've still got the plans I drew up for it, as well as the material to make more," Tails said, then turned to Wave. "I could use some help to make them."

"If I can understand your handwriting, you got it," Wave said with a smirk.

"Let's go over the plan again," Knuckles said, getting everyone's attention. Kaylee decided to do the talking, almost feeling like she was briefing soldiers before a battle. Then again, she was trained for that on the off chance that her father or the local commander was unable to command the troops.

"Alright, once the emerald trackers are finished, Sonic, Rouge, and the Babylon Rogues will go after the remaining emeralds. With Iblis already attacking a city, we don't have the time to go after them one at a time. Shadow and I will work on locating Amy, while the rest of you assist with combat operations and evacuations in Westopolis."

"I could tap into G.U.N.'s satellite network for you. It might help narrow the search," Tails added.

"Thank you Tails," Kaylee said, unsure as to what the fox was saying. "Let's get started."

**

* * *

**

After the initial shock of learning that she was in Atlantis, Amy got back to the issue of escape. For several minutes, she examined the lock on the door. Eggman just sat in his corner, not willing to incur the wrath of a certain pink hedgehog. Getting an idea, Amy took off her hair band, causing her quills to stick out more than usual. There, stashed on the inside, was a hairpin. Putting the band back on, taming her quills again, she fingered her secret escape tool.

"So that's how you escaped from me last time," Eggman stated, noticing the hairpin.

"I may not actually use one, but I always have one on me," Amy explained.

Sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth, Amy started probing the lock with the hairpin. It was taking longer than usual, but she kept working the lock. After several minutes, she was rewarded with a _click_. Pulling out the hairpin, Amy pushed the door open.

"Well, you coming or not?" Amy asked. Eggman stood up, and followed her out of the cell.

Amy poked her head around the corner. Dr. Eggman had found an abandoned building and decided to wait there, leaving Amy to scout out the city. He also said that if she could get her hands on what was left of some of his robots, he could jury rig a transmitter. Atlantis was huge, which meant there was a lot of ground to cover. Seeing that the coast was clear, Amy dashed over to the next building. She didn't like it, but she really had no choice but to trust Eggman. At least he decided that Iblis was a bigger threat. The only thing they could do now was stay hidden, and wait for Sonic.

**

* * *

**

"Kaylee, take a look at this."

Kaylee turned her attention away from the various trinkets and tools that seemed to be all over the place, and looked over at Shadow. Since he had experience with computers, she decided to let him do the work. Before Tails got started with the emerald trackers he hacked into the G.U.N. central computer, granting them access to the vast satellite network orbiting the planet. Kaylee couldn't believe the images that they were getting. This latest image was just as breathtaking as the others, except for the thing that Shadow pointed out. It looked like a small island, but it was glowing. Shadow tapped in a command and the image zoomed in on the glowing island, revealing that it was actually a city. Kaylee gasped. It was Atlantis, and it was surrounded by a barrier of flames.

"Is that…"

"Atlantis," Kaylee confirmed, "Iblis must have raised it from the ocean floor."

"Then Iblis must be using the city as a base," Shadow mused.

Kaylee thought for a moment. If Iblis was using Atlantis as a base, then there was a good chance that he had taken Amy there. The orange hedgehog narrowed her eyes.

"We need to get there," she said.

Shadow blinked. He didn't show it, but he was surprised. He then nodded. The trip would give them an idea about Iblis' strength, as well as maybe locating Amy. Shadow got out of the chair and headed for the door, intending to inform the others about this. Kaylee grabbed his arm, stopping the ebony hedgehog. The look on her face said that they had to go, now. Shaking his head, Shadow found a sticky note, wrote a short message, and stuck it to the monitor. That done, Shadow pulled out his Chaos Emerald.

"You coming?" he asked, holding out his other hand. Kaylee nodded, taking his hand.

There was a bright flash of chaos energy, and the pair vanished.

**

* * *

**

Blaze dove behind a car as a fireball slammed into the place she was just in. Several G.U.N. soldiers were pinned down in a nearby building by enemy fire, literally. They weren't kidding when they said Westopolis was under attack. Half the city had already fallen to Iblis. Knuckles was busy helping civilians escape, while Blaze chose to help the soldiers.

A scream caught her attention. Looking up, Blaze saw a young human child on the third floor of a burning building. The sound of gunfire also came from inside. Gritting her teeth, Blaze charged into the building. There were flames everywhere, but that didn't deter the fiery cat. Using her inherited powers, Blaze pushed the flames out of her way as she charged up the stairs.

The blasted thing just wouldn't die. Corporal Hicks loaded a fresh mag into his rifle, and fired again at the advancing monster. The kid behind him continued to scream in terror. Suddenly, a large fireball slammed into the monster's back, destroying it. Hicks aimed at the fireball as it dissipated, revealing a violet cat. The cat looked at him.

"What are you standing around for? Come on!" the cat said.

**

* * *

**

"It's about time!" Sonic exclaimed at Tails and Wave came through the door, trackers in hand.

"Sorry, but Wave had trouble with the blueprints," Tails said.

"You need to work on your handwriting," Wave shot back.

Tails ignored the swallow, and handed Rouge one of the trackers. Wave handed one each to Jet and Storm. She had already put hers on her hip. Sonic grabbed the prototype that was left on the table. He was eager to get out there.

"I used my government contacts, and got a general location on the emeralds," Rouge said, pulling out a map. Using a pencil, she circled five locations. The areas were large, but at least the trackers would narrow the search.

"Where's…" Sonic started to ask. Tails handed him a sticky note.

_Went to Atlantis with Kaylee._

_Shadow_

"I don't even want to know," Sonic said with a smile.

The five emerald hunters chose which area to search, then bolted out the door. There was no time to lose. Tails decided to help Blaze and Knuckles in Westopolis. He ran to the hanger.

"Where ya goin?"

Tails mentally kicked himself for forgetting about Marine. He then got an idea.

"Hey Marine, ever been in an airplane?" he asked.

"That'll be ripper! Let's go!" Marine exclaimed.

**

* * *

**

Sonic looked at the screen again. The emerald was somewhere around here. And here was in some ancient temple in Mexico. Sonic had rolled his eyes when he saw it.

"What do I look like, Indiana Jones?" Sonic chuckled, imagining himself with a fedora, leather jacket, and a whip. At least he was fast enough to pass traps without setting them off.

**

* * *

**

Rouge sighed. The tracker had picked up a signal inside this cave system. So far, all she found was rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Shaking her head, Rouge went deeper into the cave.

**

* * *

**

"This shouldn't be a problem," Jet said to himself as he looked out at the mountain range. Rouge's intel pegged this area as where one of the Chaos Emeralds were located. Putting the tracker back into his pocket, the hawk activated his board, and shot off towards the mountains.

**

* * *

**

Wave was not happy. Why did her emerald have to be in Station Square's sewer system? At least she didn't have to walk. Her board glided over the water as she followed the signal that the tracker was picking up. Right now, she was wishing that she had a gas mask.

**

* * *

**

Storm looked at the tracker again. The flashing dot was right in the center of the screen. He was told that the flashing dot was a Chaos Emerald, but he didn't see an emerald anywhere. He didn't know squat about electronics, he was the muscle of the Babylon Rogues. After several minutes of looking at the screen, Storm got off his board. It was then that he noticed a white glow.

**

* * *

**

There it was, at the bottom of the reservoir. Wave rolled her eyes. She found the red Chaos Emerald, but to get it she would have to go diving into the nasty looking water.

"I don't get paid enough for this," she muttered. Swallowing her pride, Wave prepared to jump.

**

* * *

**

Rouge picked up her prize. The purple Chaos Emerald. It had been too easy. Nothing blocking her path, no hazardous creatures guarding…

There was a long growl. The treasure hunter turned, and saw a very pissed off bear. With a nervous grin on her face, Rouge dashed off in the direction of the exit, followed by at least 500 pounds of angry fur, teeth, and claws.

**

* * *

**

The air was thin up here, but Jet had found it. The cyan emerald. Just his luck that it had to be at the very top of Mt. Rainier, 14,400 feet up in the air. With the emerald safely stashed away, Jet turned to leave.

**

* * *

**

"This just keeps getting better and better," Sonic muttered to himself. There he was, in the bowels of this temple, looking at a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. The blue Chaos Emerald sat on a pedestal. The sapphire hedgehog examined it, and the environment, closely. No doubt about it, booby trap. Sonic picked up a nearby rock. It was about the same weight as a Chaos Emerald.

"Easy Sonic," he said, "Nice and easy."

Holding his breath, Sonic swapped the Emerald for the rock. Nothing happened. He let out a long sigh of relief.

"Well, that wasn't too hard," the triumphant hero said, tossing the emerald into the air and catching it again. There was the sound of stone grinding against stone. Sonic turned back to the pedestal, and rolled his eyes. He then noticed the massive boulder rolling towards him. With a smirk on his face, Sonic ran for the exit, just fast enough to stay ahead of the boulder.

"Indiana Jones. Yea right," he quipped as he shot out of the temple at full speed. "Say hello to Indiana Sonic!"

* * *

AN: I thought I'd try something different. I don't know if having people go after the Chaos Emeralds at the same time has already been done, but it beats coming up with individual chapters for each Emerald.

Kaylee: Indiana Jones? *Looks at Rattler*

Rattler: What? When I wrote this chapter, I had the Indiana Jones theme stuck in my head! Anyway, Enjoy, review, and see you next update!


	11. Uncomfortable Recon

Chapter 11

Uncomfortable Recon

Shadow blinked. He always had to blink after Chaos Control, especially if it was over long distances. Kaylee shook her head. The pair stood on the east pier of the city, looking out at the wall of flames that surrounded the city like a shield. Kaylee shuttered. Seeing her home like this scared her. Without thinking, Shadow put a hand on her shoulder. Kaylee turned, and looked him in the eye. This made Shadow uncomfortable for some reason. There was something about Kaylee that seemed to affect the ebony hedgehog in a way that he wasn't used to.

"We should get moving," he finally said, "Iblis may know we're here."

Kaylee nodded, and pointed in the direction they should go. Shadow pulled out his pistol, even though it was virtually useless against Iblis' minions, and led the way. As they walked, Shadow thought about Kaylee. Why did he feel so weird around her? Several times now, Shadow had placed himself between the orange spirit hedgehog and danger without thinking. What was it about her that brought out this behavior?

"Something bothering you Shadow?"

Shadow stopped. Kaylee had snapped his attention back to the present. He felt his cheeks warm up. What was going on?

"Nothing," he replied without looking back at her.

Kaylee tilted her head. Something was bothering him. She crossed her arms over her chest, and stood her ground.

"Shadow, what's bothering you?" she asked again.

Shadow turned to face the princess after his cheeks cooled off. He honestly didn't have an answer. Once again, those jade eyes drew him in, and again he felt his cheeks heat up. Kaylee blinked when she saw this. She was caught off guard. Did he like her?

"You're blushing," she pointed out. Shadow's eyes shot around for a second, and he turned away. She smiled. He was pinned, and he was not used to it. For the first time in his life, Shadow, the ultimate life form, didn't know what to do. Kaylee walked over to him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Shadow?"

"I…" Shadow started, completely confused. "What are these feelings?"

"They're perfectly normal emotions," Kaylee reassured him. "Besides, you are braver than any of those jerks who tried to win me over when Atlantis was thriving."

She turned him around, and kissed him. Shadow's mind instantly melted. His gun fell out of his hand, and hit the ground.

"Wha…" was all Shadow could get out after she released him.

"That's what I think about you," Kaylee said with a smile.

"We'd better keep moving," Shadow said, detangling himself. He was bright red at that point.

**

* * *

**

Amy dove through an open door. Iblis knew they had escaped, and his goons were swarming the place. So far, nothing she brought back could be made into a radio, and it was getting harder to avoid the lava creatures. Amy gritted her teeth. Sonic wouldn't give up, and neither would she. At least she could pull out her hammer again.

Something grabbed her from behind. Amy pulled out her hammer, and bashed it in the head as hard as she could.

"Ugh."

Amy turned around, and saw Shadow sprawled out on the ground. Kaylee looked at her wide-eyed.

"Oops," Amy finally said.

"Well, I did warn him," Kaylee said slyly.

Amy helped Shadow back to his feet. The ebony hedgehog was holding his head like he had a migraine. Then again, she did just give him one. Before Amy could ask, Kaylee explained that Shadow brought them here using Chaos Control. She also explained that Tails finished the Emerald Trackers, and the others were either in Westopolis or looking for the emeralds. Kaylee held a hand over Shadow's head. Her hand glowed for a second, and Shadow no longer looked like he was nursing a hangover. Amy just figured it was another thing she learned from Tikal. She did a double take when she saw Kaylee peck Shadow on the cheek, and watched as said hedgehog turned red.

"Would you stop doing that. I'm uncomfortable enough as it is," Shadow stated, trying to save his dignity.

"Just admit it," Kaylee shot back, "You liked it."

"Did I miss something?" Amy cut in.

"Shadow's first encounter with love," Kaylee explained with a lopsided grin.

"You mean he…"

Kaylee nodded.

"And you…"

Kaylee nodded again, looking innocent.

It was too much. Amy's eyes rolled back, and she feinted.

Amy came to, and saw a bushy moustache. Without thinking, she bashed it with her hammer. Dr. Eggman reeled back from the impact. Amy jumped to her feet, and saw Shadow and Kaylee. The pair had their jaws on the floor.

"Do you always bash things when you wake up?" Kaylee asked.

"Only if they have a moustache that could double as a duster," Amy wisecracked. Shadow shook his head, thinking that she spent way too much time with Sonic.

"By the way, I was hoping that…"

"It would take some getting used to," Amy told her, "But I can't think of anybody else that he would protect like that, so I guess it's alright."

Kaylee explained that she knew that Prof. Gerald created Shadow, and that he had limited experience with most emotions due to the events in his life. Amy just nodded. She was still kinda surprised that Kaylee had feelings for Shadow. Even more so the fact that Shadow actually had feelings for Kaylee, let alone feelings like that period. The ebony hedgehog seemed uncomfortable with the situation, probably from his lack of experience. Kaylee described Shadow's reaction to her kissing him, and Amy laughed. It was hard to imagine the tough loner freezing up in the face of anything that stood before him.

Shadow just sat quietly in a corner. He was still having a hard time with these new emotions. Kaylee was beautiful, he finally admitted to himself, and merely her presence made him feel more alive than he'd felt since Dr. Eggman freed him from a stasis pod a few years ago. Like him, Kaylee had been through a lot. The fact that she was a princess didn't really bother him so much. Shadow was the Ultimate Life form after all. The only thing that could get in the way of a relationship was the fact that she was trapped in a spirit form. The only reason he could touch her was the fact that she was drawing energy from his Chaos Emerald. He thought of the other women in his life. Rouge was just a friend, not to mention a jewel thief and government agent. Amy had confused him for Sonic when they had first met, but after that showed no interest in him. She tended to be too perky at times anyway. It was hard to believe that she was related to Kaylee, although several generations of difference could be a factor.

Shadow took a deep breath. There had to be a way to…

"Shadow."

The call broke Shadow's train of thought. It was Kaylee. For a moment, he blushed, but shook it off.

"Yea?" he responded.

"Do you have a way to contact the others?" Kaylee asked him.

Shadow thought for a moment, then put a hand on his face. He had a feeling that he forgot something. Kaylee sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

AN: Well, I bet nobody saw that coming. I just hope it came out alright, I don't really do the touchy-feely stuff.

Kaylee: Rattler prefers the "Blow-the-crap-outa-the-bad-guys" approach.

Rattler: Please let me know what you think of this chapter, and how I did the whole "Shadow discovers new feelings" thing.


	12. Counterstrike

Chapter 12

Counterstrike

Westopolis burned. Tails couldn't believe his eyes. Marine was also in shock. The _Tornado_ flew over the city as soldiers herded civilians to safety.

"Seeing this, you almost expect Godzilla to come around a corner or something," Tails said to himself as he piloted the blue biplane.

"Who's Godzilla?" Marine asked from behind him.

"Just the star of one of the most successful monster movie series on Earth," Tails replied with a smile. He really enjoyed the Godzilla movies. He just hoped that the others would get back soon. From the looks of things, G.U.N was going to need all the help they could get.

**

* * *

**

Sonic skidded to a halt. Rouge and the Babylon Rogues were right behind him. Wave didn't look happy for some reason. Then again, seeing an entire city on fire didn't help things much. Sonic had seen the devastation caused by the Black Arms invasion a couple years ago, but from the looks of things, this was much worse.

"So, we gonna help or what?" Rouge asked sarcastically. She already knew the answer.

Without saying anything, Sonic blasted off towards the city, intent on stopping Iblis' army before anyone else could be harmed.

**

* * *

**

Knuckles and Blaze were cornered. At least twelve lava monsters had them pinned. It didn't take them long to figure out that the violet cat was pyrokinetic, and they changed tactics accordingly. Blaze gritted her teeth. There were too many fireballs flying at them. She couldn't stop them all. It was her idea to take cover behind this wall. The problem was that it was at the end of a dead end alley. Knuckles growled something under his breath. The red echidna couldn't get close enough to take them out. Blaze looked around, getting an idea. She knew that she couldn't fight them off.

"What are you doing?" Knuckles asked.

"Hopefully, calling for help," Blaze replied.

With a gesture, Blaze shot some flames from one of the fireballs up into the air. She was going to use them like a flare, hopefully attracting someone's attention. The makeshift flare cleared the buildings, and Blaze made another gesture. The flare expanded violently before dissipating.

She was about to do it again when a blue blur suddenly started blasting through the attacking lava monsters. The creatures turned to deal with the new threat, but dealing with a supersonic blue hedgehog was easier said than done. The last monster exploded, and Sonic the Hedgehog skidded to a halt.

"Show off," Knuckles said.

"Nice to see you too," Sonic replied. Blaze stood up. Her normally clean fur was smudged with soot and dirt, a fact that irritated her even though she didn't show it.

"Did you…" Blaze started to ask.

Sonic pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald, answering her question. He also explained that the others were helping G.U.N. in other parts of the city.

"We'd better get moving," Knuckles said, "This place is still crawling with bad guys."

**

* * *

**

Tails banked as a flying creature tried to blast the _Tornado_ with a fireball. Marine ducked down in her seat, trying to make herself as small as possible. The two-tailed pilot evaded another attack, then lined up the monster in his sights. The twin cannons lit up, firing energy-shrouded rounds into the bird like monster, ripping it to flaming shreds. The _Tornado_ flew through the resulting explosion, unfazed by the blast. More of the flaming birds dove at the plane, intent on burning it out of the sky. Tails saw them coming and, much to Marine's discomfort, barrel rolled to evade. It was then that Tails saw it. A massive creature, almost like a tank, bearing down on a group of soldiers.

"Hold on Marine!" Tails called back over his shoulder.

"Incoming!"

Sgt. Deunan Valeri dove for cover as a large fireball slammed into the ground. The large, flaming monster had come out of nowhere and started blasting everything in sight.

"We need Anti-Armor up here!"

Whatever this thing was, it wasn't playing around. Deunan fired off another burst from her assault rifle. She then heard what sounded like a plane engine. Looking up, she saw a blue biplane open fire on the flaming beast. The rest of the unit cheered. There was only one pilot that they knew of who flew a blue biplane. Deunan watched as a pair of missiles leapt from the _Tornado_ and slam into the beast. Fireballs shot out in an attempt to knock out the offending aircraft. She then noticed that there were several of those "Phoenix" creatures chasing it. Deunan watched in horror as one of them slammed into the _Tornado_, sheering off one set of wings. The plane spun out of control before slamming into the ground in front of the beast.

"Covering Fire!" Deunan shouted to the rest of her squad. "Take that thing out!"

Tails shook his head. At least he managed to keep from crashing into a building. Marine moaned behind him. That was a good sign, another survivor. Grabbing the spirit sword, Tails climbed out of the _Tornado_. Gunfire erupted from behind him as the soldiers that he tried to help opened up on the large creature that towered over him. It reared back as rockets slammed into its face. Thinking fast, Tails grabbed Marine and made a mad dash for cover. Marine's eyes widened as she saw the massive creature.

"Crieky! That's HUGE!" she exclaimed as Tails continued to pull her away. The creature exploded, throwing everybody to the ground. Tails picked himself up off the ground, and came face to face with another lava monster. It extended its arm, and a flaming sword burst into existence.

"Marine, get out of here," Tails said, gripping the spirit sword in both hands. Marine didn't argue. She bolted, heading for the soldiers. Tails sized up his opponent, thinking that he was in way over his head. The lava monster charged at the young fox, sword raised. Tails jumped to the side, slashing with his sword as it passed. The monster turned and threw a fireball. Thinking fast, Tails blocked it with the blade of his sword, then took to the air.

Marine looked back at Tails. He was fighting one of those creatures with a sword.

"You ok?"

Marine turned, and saw a human female in full combat gear. She nodded, looking back at her friend.

Sonic saw the _Tornado_ get hit, and ran to the crash site. He arrived in time to see Tails start a fight with one of Iblis' goons. So far, the young kit was holding his own. Sonic narrowed his eyes when he noticed another creature trying to sneak up behind Tails. With a smile, Sonic dashed off to join the brawl.

Tails blocked another strike, still unable to get passed its guard. There was a sudden gust of wind, followed by an explosion behind him.

"I'll handle the rest of these losers," Sonic said.

Tails smiled, then concentrated on his opponent. After another failed attack, Tails got an idea. The spirit sword had a split blade design. He dodged another attack as he formulated a plan in his head.

"Tails! Watch out!"

The lava monster kicked him in the chest, sending Tails to the ground. It raised its sword over its head, preparing for the final stroke. The flaming blade came down.

_CLANG!!!_

It worked. At the last second, Tails thrust his sword up, catching the incoming blade with his own. With a twist, the creature's sword was yanked out of its hand. Tails followed with a quick slash, splitting the monster in half, exploding as it went.

"You ok Tails?" Sonic asked as he approached.

"Yea," he replied, "How are the others?"

"We got the emeralds. Now all we need to do is find Amy, and get to Atlantis."

Marine came running up to the pair, followed by a human soldier. Tails asked if she was all right, only to get a hyper reenactment of his fight from the young raccoon. Yup, Marine was just fine. Sonic still didn't know how they were gonna get to Atlantis, especially now that the _Tornado_ was out of action.

"Thanks for the help," the soldier said. "I don't think we would have lasted much longer without you."

"Anytime," Sonic replied.

"I'm Sgt. Deunan Valeri. Thanks to you guys, we just secured Westopolis. If there's anything I can do to help…"

"As a matter of fact, there is."

**

* * *

**

"So you're saying that this is the source of the attack?"

Everyone gathered around a table in the forward command post as the G.U.N. commander looked over the image of Atlantis. Sonic and Tails both nodded. The others remained silent. Blaze finally spoke up.

"Iblis is using Atlantis as a base, and we need to get there. Unfortunately, we don't have a way to get there."

The commander thought about it for a moment. He couldn't spare any assets on an attack on this mysterious city. However, he did have a group of volunteers standing in front of him. Besides, they seem to know more about what was going on than he did.

"Sgt. Valeri, I want you to give them a quick rundown on jumping," he said, turning to the young woman that had brought Sonic and his friends here. "I'll see to it that we have a C-130 prepped and ready by the time you reach Nellis."

"Yes sir," Sgt. Valeri said, snapping off a salute.

"Jumping? What does that mean?" Knuckles asked.

"I think it means that we're gonna fly over Atlantis and, using parachutes, drop inside the city," Tails said.

"Wait a minute. Parachutes? Are we going to be jumping _out _of a_ perfectly good airplane?_" Knuckles exclaimed, looking a little nervous.

"That'll be ripper!" Marine shouted, not understanding what was going on.

"Not this time Marine," Sonic said, pointing at the raccoon. "It's too dangerous."

"What'cha mean 'it's too dangerous'? I wanna go!"

"Marine, we're going to be facing a powerful being that can control fire even better than I can. We can't take out Iblis if we have to worry about protecting you at the same time," Blaze explained.

"Orright, I'll stay on the plane," Marine finally said.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the long delay in updating. Got distracted by real life stuff. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

Kaylee: I forgive you Rattler.

Rattler: Thank you.

Kaylee: But the readers...

Rattler: *Offers big batch of cyber cookies* Forgive me?

Kaylee: On a side note, Rattler knows that part with Tails using the split blade design of his sword like that is highly unlikely, but makes for a good action scene anyway.


	13. Battle of Atlantis

Chapter 13

Battle of Atlantis

Everyone was tense. Sgt. Valeri gave them a crash course, no pun intended, on parachute operation. Of course, the sound of the C-130's engines in the background didn't help. Rouge was confident in her ability to get down to Atlantis with her wings, claiming that the packs weren't designed with bats in mind. Tails already had his on, eager to get a little payback for what happened to the _Tornado_.

"Get ready. We'll be over the drop zone in five," a crewmember called out.

Sonic slipped the parachute on, making sure not to damage it with his quills. Knuckles still looked like a nervous wreak. A red light came on, and the back of the plane opened up. Rouge grabbed onto the side, waiting for the signal.

"This is a really bad idea!" Knuckles shouted over the noise.

"What's the matter? Chicken?" Rouge shouted over her shoulder.

The light turned green, and Sgt. Valeri tapped Rouge on the shoulder.

"Go!"

With a casual salute, Rouge jumped. Jet and his fellow Rogues followed. Blaze hesitated for a second, gathering her wits. She had never done anything like this before. No one back home was going to believe that their princess jumped out of an aircraft, willingly. With a nervous grin, she jumped. Tails followed right behind her.

"This is a _REALLY_ bad idea!" Knuckles exclaimed, not wanting to jump. An almost evil smile crept onto Sonic's face.

"Watch that first step, Knuckles," he said just before he kicked the reluctant echidna out of the aircraft. Still smiling, Sonic did a back flip, and started his decent to Atlantis.

**

* * *

**

"What's that?"

Kaylee's question hung in the air for a minute. Shadow had heard it too. He looked up, and saw a G.U.N. C-130 fly over the city. He was surprised to see what looked like paratroopers jumping out of the plane.

"Looks like G.U.N. decided to launch a counterattack," Shadow said, pointing at the paratroopers. Amy also saw them, and hoped that they could help with an escape.

"If those are G.U.N. soldiers, then why, and how, is one of them doing flips with an open parachute?" Amy asked, pointing at one of the paratroopers. Shadow noticed this as well, along with the fact that the lead one had not deployed a parachute at all.

"Come on. Iblis probably knows they're coming and has prepared a welcoming committee," Shadow said. He grabbed Kaylee, and dashed off to where he figured the paratroopers would land. Amy shook her head, thinking that some of Sonic's traits had rubbed off on the ebony hedgehog.

"You stay here," Amy said, pointing at Eggman. The scientist just nodded. That taken care of, Amy ran off in pursuit of Shadow.

**

* * *

**

Rouge landed gracefully on one of the northern piers in Atlantis. The Babylon Rogues landed a minute later, discarding their parachutes in favor of their airboards.

"It's too quiet," Jet said as Blaze touched down.

"Look out!" Tails shouted, still in the air. He spotted several lava monsters waiting in ambush. With their cover blown, the creatures attacked. Tails slipped out of his parachute before his feet even hit the ground. Rouge was already dodging fireballs as Knuckles made a not-so-graceful landing. Sonic landed, tore off the parachute, and spin dashed the nearest monster. The whole group found themselves in the middle of a melee as more lava monsters joined the fight.

Blaze turned in time to see a black blur pulverize one of her attackers. Shadow continued to make the rounds, bashing any enemy that got in his way. Tails noticed Kaylee, and tossed her the spirit sword. She caught it, and started slashing away at a nearby monster. Sonic was sent flying into a nearby building after getting backhanded. He looked up, and saw his attacker get flattened by a red and yellow hammer. Looking past the hammer, Sonic smiled.

"Thanks for the save Amy," he said. Before the pink hedgehog could reply, Sonic grabbed her. He pulled her down just as a flaming blade cut through the air. As Sonic battled the sword-wielding enemy, Amy gritted her teeth. She had to do something. It was then that she got an idea. Grabbing her hammer, Amy pulled out a second, holding one in each hand.

Sonic jumped back, avoiding another swipe from his adversary. This one was much faster than the ones that attacked Westopolis, and Sonic was unable to launch an attack. Suddenly, something assaulted the lava monster with a pair of hammers. Amy was dual wielding, a tactic that Sonic had never seen her use before. The pink hedgehog slammed both hammers into the sword bearer, causing it to explode. That done, Amy jumped the next enemy, smashing it into the ground. Just as she was about to flatten a third, the monsters disappeared. Everyone looked around, unsure as to what had happened.

"Well played, your highness. But your luck has run out."

Sonic, as well as everybody else, turned. There, standing casually with a flame shaped sword, was a red hedgehog with flame shaped quills and dark eyes. Amy gasped. The last time she had seen Iblis was back in the dungeon, and he had looked like a hedgehog made of fire. Now he looked like a normal hedgehog. Kaylee handed the spirit sword back to Tails, and approached the red hedgehog. She had a determined look on her face. The red hedgehog's eyes widened when he saw her.

"Princess Kaylee? How is this possible?"

"Iblis," Kaylee said, "So you decided to deal with us personally?"

Everyone stared at the exchange. How did Iblis know of Kaylee? Sonic stepped forward. Before he could say anything, Jet spoke up.

"So you're Iblis? You're kinda short for an ancient god of fire and destruction," the emerald hawk quipped.

"Do not underestimate my power, bird," Iblis said, then turned his attention to Sonic, "And you, hedgehog. This does not concern you. Walk away, and I will spare you and your friends."

"Sorry. Not my style Flames," Sonic shot back in his usual manner.

Iblis aimed the tip of his blade at Sonic as a challenge.

"Then come."

Sonic didn't hesitate. One minute he was standing with his friends behind him, the next, a blue blur was zipping around Iblis. Sonic was trying to cause a tornado, hoping to disarm Iblis. The evil hedgehog raised a hand, and a column of flames engulfed him. The flames expanded, crossing into Sonic's path. The sapphire hedgehog skidded to a halt, only to get blasted by a large fireball.

"Not bad Flames. My turn," Sonic said as he skidded past Rouge and Knuckles.

"I could have killed you with that blast hedgehog. I control the very fires of this world. You are nothing…" Iblis was cut off by a living buzz saw as Sonic spin dashed through the evil being. Iblis exploded, then reformed as if nothing happened.

"As I said, you are nothing compared to my might!"

Before Sonic could even react, Iblis grabbed him by the throat, and threw him into a building. Knuckles charged at the red hedgehog, only to get backhanded into a wall. Jet powered up his airboard, and, followed by Storm and Wave, launched an attack. Iblis dodged each attack, only to get a small bomb planted on his arm. With a smile, Wave pushed the button on her detonator. Again, Iblis exploded, only to reform moments later.

"I'll show you a real explosion," Iblis said as he slammed his hand on the ground. A burst of energy, similar to Shadow's Chaos Blast, sent the Babylon Rogues flying. Rouge and Tails tried to double team Iblis, but had about as much luck as the others. Iblis turned to Shadow.

"What about you, hedgehog? Care to try your luck?" Iblis said with an evil smile.

Shadow's only response was to pull out his gun. Having never encountered firearms before, Iblis was unprepared for the sudden assault as Shadow opened fire. The ebony hedgehog emptied the clip, ejected it, and slid a new one into place. Iblis charged at Shadow in an attempt to stab him with his blade. Jumping out of the way, Shadow again fired his gun. This time, Iblis blocked the bullets with his sword. Amy watched as Shadow was tossed aside just like Sonic. Blaze stepped up to face Iblis next.

"A cat? Do you honestly think you can defeat me?"

"There's a saying," Blaze said coldly, "Fight fire with fire."

With that, Blaze charged at Iblis, a fireball forming around her. Iblis wasn't expecting an opponent who could control fire. The feline fireball slammed into the red hedgehog, knocking him back several feet. Iblis sent a stream of fire at Blaze from his hand. Blaze raised her hand in front of her, looking like a jedi from Star Wars, and stopped the flames in mid air. Raising her other hand, Blaze gritted her teeth. Iblis was strong, and she was struggling to hold her ground against his power. The flames crept closer as Blaze fought to hold them back. Finally, her strength gave out, and the flames slammed her into a wall. Iblis then grabbed Kaylee by the throat.

"You may have survived all these years because Chaos had shifted your body to the spirit realm, but you are _not_ immune to my power," Iblis growled. The red hedgehog started to squeeze.

"LET HER GO!"

Iblis looked up, only to have a flying hammer slam into his face. Amy stood several feet away with hammer in hand.

"You will _not_ harm any of my friends as long as I'm around," Amy declared. Sonic saw her as he recovered. He wanted to help, but for once, he didn't know what to do. Iblis looked at the pink hedgehog, a smile forming on his face.

"So, princess, you finally challenge me?" Iblis said, "There is nothing you can do. Without the 'Might of the Seven', you are a powerless little girl who can do nothing but watch as her world burns around her."

Iblis swept his arms back, and a column of fire erupted around him. The flames shot into the air, and formed into a demonic looking creature. Amy looked up, and her hammer fell out of her hand. Three eyes opened, and Iblis roared.

"Now, witness my true power!"

The dark god raised a fiery hand to flatten the now shocked princess. Sonic's eyes widened. That monster was going to crush Amy! Iblis' hand came down, and Amy squeezed her eyes shut.

"Now there is nothing that can stop me!" Iblis roared in triumph.

"Hey Flames! Over here!"

Iblis turned, and saw a battered Sonic holding Amy. The blue hedgehog had used his speed to rescue the princess.

Amy opened her eyes. She was alive, and Sonic was standing next to her. The words of the prophecy came back to her.

_Though the Princess will challenge its power, alone her strength will fail. _

Alone, she would have been killed. But Amy was not alone. She had Sonic, as well as her other friends, to help her.

_Only before the Might of the Seven, combined with the courage of a knight possessing the speed of the wind, will the Great Evil fall before the heir of the Great City._

Sonic was holding something. It was the blue Chaos Emerald! Amy looked back at Iblis.

"I won't let you destroy this world! As long as I have my friends, I'll always be there to stop you!" Amy yelled defiantly.

"NOW!" Sonic shouted, raising his Emerald. Shadow raised his Emerald, followed by Tails. One by one, the Chaos Emeralds were revealed. Iblis looked on in shock. How could these lower life forms have discovered the Might of the Seven?

Sonic took Amy by the hand. He knew what had to be done. Amy nodded, and raised a hand. The Chaos Emeralds started to float around the pair. Sonic looked Amy in the eye. He wouldn't admit it, but he would do everything in his power to protect her. The Emeralds were now a blur of rainbow light, a light that soon surrounded Sonic and Amy.

* * *

AN: Before anyone complains about Knuckles, I needed somebody to not like the idea of jumping out of an airplane. Cyber cookie for anyone who can guess who was doing the flips with an open parachute!

Kaylee: And Amy duel wielding?

Rattler: What's worse than a mad pink hedgehog with a hammer?

Kaylee: Good point.

Rattler: I _know_ I'm gonna get more cliff hanger complaints. *Grabs crash helmet* Bring 'em on!

Kaylee: Next chapter we reveal Amy's super form as the Battle for Atlantis, and the world, heats up.


	14. Daughter of Atlantis

AN: THIS IS IT!!!!!!

Kaylee: You're excited.

Rattler: That's because this is the reveal!

Kaylee: Too much Ghost Hunters, Rattler.

Rattler: Amy's super form, Kaylee. That's what the reveal is about.

* * *

Chapter 14

Daughter of Atlantis

Time seemed to stop. Amy opened her eyes. All she could see was white light.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"This is new for me too."

Amy turned, and saw Sonic standing a few feet away. He looked just as confused as Amy. There seemed to be nothing here, not even the ground. Amy took a step towards Sonic.

"I had almost given up hope."

Sonic and Amy turned. The voice seemed to come from everywhere. Amy looked around, hoping to find the source of the voice. It was then that she saw him. A light brown hedgehog wearing a white cloak. He stood with an air of authority about him. Sonic eyed the mysterious hedgehog, unsure of what to make of him.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked.

"Trian, King of Atlantis. I have been expecting you."

Amy's eyes widened. First Kaylee, now Trian? The royal hedgehog explained that the power of the Chaos Emeralds allowed him to cross over from the other side.

"So you're a ghost?" Sonic asked.

"Yes," Trian replied, turning to Amy. "I have something for you."

He handed her a gold pendant. On it was what Amy guessed was the Atlantian Royal Crest.

"The blue one likes you, more than he'll admit," Trian said. Sonic instantly turned red. Trian turned to face him.

"And you, protect her with your life. She, like my own daughter Kaylee, is very special."

"Um, ok," Sonic said slowly.

Trian turned back to Amy, and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Good luck, Daughter of Atlantis. May the Guardians protect you."

With that, everything whited out.

**

* * *

**

The light faded. Everybody blinked, then their jaws hit the ground. Super Sonic stood there in all his gold quilled glory. But it was Amy that shocked them. Her quills and fur had turned to a vibrant ruby color. Instead of her normal red skirt, she wore beautifully crafted gold breast plate armor. Even her hairband was gold. Amy opened her eyes. They were the same jade green. Kaylee was the first to recover from the shock of seeing Amy. Before anyone could say anything, a large, flaming hand came at them. Sonic was the first to react, flying up to intercept it. Amy turned to face Kaylee.

"I'll be fine, get to others out of here," she said.

Kaylee nodded, then ran over to Shadow. She spoke to the ebony hedgehog, who nodded in response. Shadow led the group out of the line of fire.

That done, Amy turned to face Iblis. Sonic had backed off, and now floated at about eye level with the evil being. Amy extended her hand. Instead of the Piko Piko Hammer, a beautifully crafted crystal sword appeared in her hand. The blade was pure sapphire and razor sharp. The gold hilt had a curved X-shaped crossguard to protect her hand. Tightening her grip on the sword, Amy jumped into the air. She was surprised when she started to float next to Sonic. Iblis glared at the pair.

"You may have gained power from the seven, but you cannot defeat me," Iblis said, taking a swing at the super form hedgehogs. Sonic grabbed Amy, and pulled her back out of reach. Iblis roared, flames erupting from his hands. Amy looked at Sonic.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

"Nope," Sonic replied, "I'm making this up as I go."

"Usual plan then," Amy quipped. Sonic always figured things out as he went. Before he could respond, Iblis sent a stream of flames at the pair. Amy reacted first, bringing her sword up to block. The flames slammed into the sapphire blade as Amy gritted her teeth. The attack continued, pushing her closer to the flame barrier surrounding Atlantis. Sonic charged at Iblis, hoping to distract him long enough for Amy to break free. Iblis flinched as a golden hedgehog slammed into his left arm, throwing off his aim.

Kaylee watched from the relative safety of the royal tower. Granted, the tower was in the center of the city, but the battle was taking place on one of the piers. She could barely make out the glowing forms of Sonic and Amy. Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder. Even without his emerald, he was still able to touch her, probably because of all the energy around them. Kaylee looked into the black hedgehog's eyes. She had the look of a concerned mother. Shadow pulled her into a hug.

"Everything will be alright," he reassured her.

"I hope you're right," Kaylee said.

"This is Amy's fight. I had a similar one a few years ago with Black Doom," Shadow explained.

Kaylee turned back to watch the battle. Shadow decided to stay with her.

Amy took advantage of the distraction Sonic caused, and charged in. Iblis saw her coming and tried to swat the armored princess away. Seeing the flaming hand coming, Amy lashed out with her sword. The blade slashed across Iblis' palm, causing the dark god to recoil. Sonic, seeing a possible weakness, assaulted the now damaged hand.

Suddenly, Iblis grabbed Amy with his other hand.

"Now it ends," Iblis snarled.

Sonic's eyes widened in horror as Iblis threw Amy into his mouth.

"AMY!!!!!!!!!!!"

**

* * *

**

Amy opened her eyes. She was floating in a dark abyss. The only source of light was Amy herself.

"Where am I?" she asked out loud. Her eyes widened as she realized what had happened. Iblis _ate _her! She was inside the evil being. Amy looked around. There seemed to be nothing here at all.

"Ok… I'm inside an ancient evil god," Amy mused, "I guess it can't get much worse than that."

She saw something out of the corner of her eye. Amy turned, and saw what looked like a crystal shard floating in the middle of a blob.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day," Amy said, then rolled her eyes. "I really need to stop talking to myself."

Amy drifted closer to the shard. It looked like a glowing piece of ruby. She tried reaching for the shard, only to recoil in pain. Even in a super form, the blob burned like acid. While thinking of a way to get at the shard, Amy noticed that the glow seemed to pulse, almost like…

"Is this Iblis' heart?" Amy asked. That could explain the acid defense. But why a ruby shard? Iblis was imprisoned inside a large ruby! This shard was now a part of him! Gritting her teeth, Amy plunged her hand into the blob. Although there was no physical sign, her arm felt like it was on fire. Her fingers closed around the pulsing crystal shard, and Amy pulled. The blob seemed to fight against her to keep its treasure. The burning seemed to increase, as well as the resistance to her pulling, but Amy continued to pull. Finally, the shard was pulled free from the blob. Amy looked at the pulsing object that now rested in her hand, its crimson glow reflecting off her gold armor.

"You will never threaten my family and friends ever again," Amy said. She tossed the shard up. Holding her crystal sword in both hands, Amy swung at the crystal, shattering it.

**

* * *

**

Sonic gritted his teeth as he lashed out at Iblis. Seeing the beast swallow Amy whole had caused something in Sonic to snap. The flying golden hedgehog was attacking every inch of Iblis relentlessly. He wasn't even thinking straight, he was just attacking. Sonic was about to launch into another blitz when he noticed a change in Iblis. Suddenly, the flaming monster clutched a hand to its chest, as if it just got sucker punched. Sonic drifted backwards, confusion clearly showing on his face. Had his attacks caused more damage than he thought? Iblis shuddered, crying out in pain. His arms flung back as the evil being started floating up into the sky. Beams of pure light burst out from Iblis' body as he continued to cry out in pain. Sonic watched as the dark god continued to reel in agony as more beams erupted from within. Iblis' contorted form cleared the buildings and, with one final cry, exploded like a supernova. Sonic shielded his eyes as he was knocked into the royal tower by the blast.

The city shook as Iblis exploded. Kaylee held onto the balcony for balance. The golden form of Super Sonic floated above the balcony. But where was Amy?

"Amy?" Sonic called out. "AMY!"

Shadow approached the princess. He made sure that the others were ok before checking on her. The ebony hedgehog saw the look on her face. He reached out, but his hand passed through her shoulder. Kaylee's eyes filled with tears.

"Guardians no…" she muttered.

All that was left of Iblis was a dissipating cloud of energy. Shadow's eyes fell to the floor. Amy had been swallowed by Iblis. Super form or no, nothing could have survived a blast like that.

"AMY!!!!!!!" Sonic yelled again. There was no response.

"Hey Sonic," Tails said slowly, pointing at the cloud. "What's that?"

Everyone looked at the cloud. There was a faint glow coming from inside. Sonic could do nothing but float there. The glowing spot started to get brighter. After a minute, it took on the form of a hedgehog.

Like a phoenix, Amy came flying out from the cloud. The armored hedgehog landed gently on the balcony, followed by a relieved Super Sonic. His quills faded back to their usual blue as the energy flowing through him dissipated. Kaylee looked up from the deck, a weak smile on her face at the sight of her descendant. Everyone was still shocked that she had survived, not to mention the fact that she was still super form. Amy looked over at all her friends, before turning her attention to Kaylee.

"We thought you…" Tails started to say, but Amy cut him off with a gesture translating to _one minute_.

"Thank the Guardians you're safe," Kaylee said. "We all feared the worst."

"Can't get rid of me that easily," Amy quipped. "Besides, there's something I want to do for you."

Amy reached out and helped the princess to her feet, surprising everyone. With a smile on her face, Amy gave her ancestor a hug. Again, everyone stood there in shock as the pair started glowing. For Kaylee, it seemed like time had just come to a halt. When the light faded, Amy was back to her normal self, wearing her usual red dress. Kaylee stood there as if nothing happened. Knuckles was the first to react.

"What just happened?" the echidna asked.

Tails approached the orange hedgehog, and, to everyone's surprise, poked her arm. Kaylee poked him back, and the pair started trading pokes for about a minute before Shadow interrupted.

"You can stop now Miles," Shadow stated. The young fox narrowed his eyes at Shadow's use of his real name. Kaylee giggled when she saw this. Shadow approached her, and she looked him in the eye. Everyone, especially Sonic, burst out laughing when Kaylee kissed him and Shadow just froze on the spot. The Atlantian hedgehog was no longer a spirit anymore.

* * *

AN: Well, there you have it. My crack at the obligatory final boss type battle.

Kaylee: I'm not a spirit anymore?

Rattler: That's right. Please let me know how I did with the Iblis fight, weither I did a good job or have areas I need to improve.

Kaylee: Basically, Please review.

Rattler: And I was trying to be diplomatic...

Kaylee: Wow... Big words today Rattler?

Rattler: Yes Kaylee, I know big words. One more chapter to go everyone! See you next update!


	15. Back with a Vengeance

AN: Hello all! This is it. The final Chapter.

Kaylee: You finally decided to post it?

Rattler: Yea. Sorry for the wait. Real life stuff happens.

Kaylee: Well, Enjoy this final chapter of Legacy of Atlantis.

* * *

Chapter 15

Back with a Vengeance

Something unexpected happened on the way back from Atlantis. After picking up Marine, Kaylee actually yawned. When they got back to Tails' place, she immediately crashed on the couch. Apparently centuries of not having to sleep finally caught up with her. She didn't wake up until lunch the next day.

Tails was gonna throw a party to celebrate their victory in Atlantis. With Kaylee's sudden return to being a physical being, and subsequent hijacking of the couch, no one was sure what to expect.

"Hey Tails, where's the chili?"

"Same place as always, Sonic."

"Oh. Right."

Tails rolled his eyes. Sonic always asked that when he wanted to make his favorite food. Blaze and Amy were working on something, but wouldn't say what. Jet was setting up Tails' stereo with some help from Wave. Tails was digging through the fridge for some soda when he heard it. It sounded like either a plane taking off or a really mad bear. Everyone turned, and saw Kaylee standing in the doorway with a wide eyed look on her face.

"Kaylee, was that you?" Amy asked.

"Um…" Kaylee stammered, "I think so."

"Sounds to me like you're hungry," Sonic said, a can of chili in his hand.

"It's been so long, I guess I forgot," Kaylee said, sounding embarrassed.

Sonic said that he had the perfect cure, and went back to work. Kaylee found a chair, and sat down. She really was hungry. Tails went back to digging through the fridge as Blaze set a small plate of snacks on the table. Kaylee was about to try a piece of cheese when a brown puffball came flying out of the living room as a rather loud sound tore through the air.

"That… was… RIPPER!!!!!!!!!" Marine exclaimed, throwing her fists into the air. Her fur was standing on end, making the hyperactive raccoon look like a powder puff.

"Sound system works," Jet said as he entered the kitchen, a finger in his ear. Apparently, Marine had cranked up the volume to maximum, and turned the stereo on. At least Wave managed to turn it off before anything broke, or everyone went deaf. Kaylee shook her head, and grabbed a piece of cheese. Tails set several bottles on the counter, then opened a cabinet.

Amy got back to work on her project. She and Blaze had decided to make something special for Kaylee. She didn't like the idea of Kaylee's first meal in centuries being chili dogs, but when Sonic gets into chili dog mode, nothing, not even the four horsemen of the apocalypse, could drag the blue hedgehog away. Amy closed her eyes, thinking about what Trian had said, and Sonic's reaction. He really did have feelings for her. Naturally, Sonic would deny it, but, between the two of them, the cat was out of the bag. There was also the pendant that Trian had given her.

"I'll be right back Blaze," she said. Blaze nodded. Everyone else had left the kitchen to claim their spots in the living room, leaving Kaylee at the table, with a now empty snack plate. Amy pulled up a chair.

"You alright?" she asked.

Kaylee smiled. "I'll be fine. I just need to learn all the local customs."

"Um… Kaylee?"

"Yes?"

Amy pulled out the pendant, and placed it on the table. Kaylee looked at it for a moment, eyes wide.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

Amy described what happened to her and Sonic moments before they went super form. Kaylee blinked when Amy described meeting Trian. It was a little hard to believe, but the proof was sitting there on the table.

"That pendant… was my father's," Kaylee finally said, "I guess this means that he's looking out for both of us."

"If it was your dad's, then you should have it," Amy replied as she picked up the pendant. She held it out to her. Kaylee shook her head, took Amy's hand, and closed Amy's fingers around the pendant.

"He gave it to you Amy. Besides, I want you to keep it. By the way, what smells good?"

Amy rolled her eyes, and got up out of the chair. Kaylee followed suit, and the pair headed for the door. Blaze joined them, saying something about it being ready. The look Amy gave Kaylee said it all, _you'll find out later._

As the door opened they could hear Shadow threaten Marine again. Kaylee followed Amy and Blaze into the living room, and found a pot resting on a hot plate. Sonic noticed them enter, and waved Kaylee over. The sapphire hedgehog grabbed a plate and started dishing up Kaylee's first meal.

Sonic handed Kaylee the plate. Kaylee looked at what she guessed was supposed to be food, then at Sonic.

"Um… what is this?" she asked.

Everything went silent. For a moment, Tails' eyes widened.

"That, your royal highness," Sonic said, trying to sound like a nobleman, "is heaven on a bun. Your first chili dog."

"Chilly dog?" Kaylee asked, even more confused. "This doesn't look cold. And this had better not be made out of dog."

Sonic and Tails burst out laughing at that. Kaylee just stood there, wondering what was so funny. Tails handed her a glass filled with a dark, bubbly liquid. Again, Kaylee looked at the offering in confusion. Shaking her head, Kaylee set the chili dog down on the table, and took a sip of the drink. She was surprised to discover that the mysterious drink actually tasted good.

"Tails, what did you give her?" Shadow asked, looking at the glass in Kaylee's hand.

"All I had was orange soda and root beer in the fridge, so…"

"Root beer," Shadow deadpanned.

Tails shrugged as the black hedgehog rolled his eyes. Kaylee was now poking the chili dog with her fork, when Jet turned on the stereo. Music started playing, and, almost immediately, Sonic started playing air guitar. Blaze shook her head at the blue hedgehog's antics. Tails joined in, acting like he was playing the drums. Kaylee laughed, and finally took a bite of the chili dog. No one noticed that after that, the chili dog disappeared real fast. Blaze actually dished up a chili dog for herself, having never tried one before.

Everything froze as someone cut loose with the loudest burp they had ever heard. All eyes eventually fell on Kaylee, whose eyes were almost as big as her head.

"Um… 'scuse me?" she said meekly.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles just sat there on the couch in disbelief. After about a minute, Knuckles pulled out a sign with a number on it. "9".

Sonic and Tails followed suit, both displaying "9" as well. Amy glared at the trio, thinking that they were acting like little kids. They actually scored Kaylee on something that she considered gross. Besides, Kaylee was a princess…

Another burp was heard, this one softer than the first. Blaze put a hand up to her mouth, hoping no one heard her. She wasn't that lucky, and what came next made Amy roll her eyes. Once again, the judges displayed their score on the latest offering.

Knuckles: 2

Sonic: 1

Tails: 1

"You boys are unbelievable," Amy finally said.

"Wait till the beans kick in," Knuckles said, leaning back on the couch.

Amy's eye twitched. Marine was laughing her tail off at Knuckles' comment, knowing exactly what the echidna was referring to. Tails got up off the couch, since he was in the middle, fearing for his life. Kaylee knew what was coming, and put a hand on Amy's shoulder.

"Amy, relax," she said.

"I know," Amy replied. "But you're a princess, right? Shouldn't you be more, I don't know, princess like?"

Everyone looked at the orange hedgehog. Apparently, the others were thinking the same thing. Blaze rolled her eyes. The violet cat was also a princess, but didn't act like it at all.

"Well… to tell the truth, yes. I should. But that's never stopped me before. Mom never did like me being so free spirited. She always tried to make me wear these very ornate dresses and act very proper." Kaylee explained, then smiled. "The only thing I got from that was an extreme dislike of anything… um…"

"Fufuy?" Tails suggested.

"Gesundheit," Sonic said. Everyone except Kaylee, Blaze, and Marine burst out laughing. Kaylee finally smiled, looking over at Shadow. The black hedgehog was shaking his head. Kaylee smiled, deciding to embarrass the ebony hedgehog in front of everyone.

"Shadow, could you come over here please?" she asked.

"No," he replied flatly.

Rolling her eyes, Kaylee approached Shadow, and grabbed him by the arm. He didn't even resist as she started to drag him away from the wall he was leaning against. Shadow soon found himself in front of everyone. Kaylee got everyone's attention, and all activity in the room stopped. Shadow suddenly had a bad feeling about what was coming. Again, those jade eyes of hers pulled him in and left him defenseless. Kaylee wrapped her arms around Shadow's neck, and pulled him into another brain melting kiss. Cheers erupted from all those in attendance. Kaylee pulled back, and smiled as Shadow just stood there in shock once again. Mission accomplished, Kaylee reached for her glass. That was never gonna get old. Shadow snapped out of it, recovering from the brain melter. What happened next shocked everyone, even Kaylee. Shadow grabbed Kaylee's arm, spun her around, and _HE_ kissed _HER!_ Jaws hit the floor at this unexpected turn of events. Kaylee didn't care though, she was too wrapped up in the moment.

Amy couldn't help but smile. Not only had Kaylee been restored to a flesh and blood hedgehog, but she actually got Shadow to lighten up and live a little. Kaylee and Shadow finally pulled back from each other, and Amy thought she saw a smile on Shadow's face. Amy didn't notice Sonic approach her. She jumped when he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry," he said.

"Sonic, why can't we be like that?" Amy asked finally, pointing over at Shadow and Kaylee.

"To be honest," Sonic started, "you tend to come across as a love struck fan girl with a very bad case of hero worship, or something like that. I admit you're… um…"

"Pretty?" Amy suggested, ignoring the earlier fan girl comment.

"I was going a little higher than that," Sonic said with a sideways smile. "Amy, every time you chase me, tackle me, and straight up demand marriage, I get this suffocating feeling. Literally when you tackle me. Basically, you're moving too fast Amy, and it makes me uncomfortable."

Amy had never really thought about that. She also never thought she'd hear Sonic complain about _anything_ moving too fast. True, she tended to come on a bit strong, but she never stopped to consider how Sonic felt about it. Now she had an answer. The problem wasn't with Sonic, but Amy herself. He was too uncomfortable around her, not afraid of her like he appeared at times.

"I'm sorry Sonic," Amy finally said, "I guess I need to work on that."

Sonic gave her a hug, which she promptly returned. It took them a minute to realize that everyone was starring. Once again, the two hedgehogs quickly detangled themselves, turning bright red in the process. Tails had a knowing smile on his face as he decided to spare his friends any more embarrassment.

"Ok, nothing to see here people. Back to the party," the young kit said as he made a show of digging through his DVD collection. He accidently dropped a case onto the floor, and Kaylee picked it up.

"Tails, what's this?" she asked, holding up the case. Tails rolled his eyes and chuckled. It was his copy of _StarGate Atlantis: Season 4_. He took the DVD case, and pulled out season one.

"Better start at the beginning of the series," Tails said as he handed it to Kaylee. "I'll show you how to use the DVD player."

Before Kaylee could say anything, Amy called for everyone's attention.

"Who's up for cake and ice cream?"

Kaylee blinked.

"Ice… cream?"

* * *

AN: That's it. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and enjoyed this story. I had fun writing this, and I hope people continue to enjoy reading this.

Kaylee: Why did Sonic score me on that anyway?

Rattler: They're guys. And you beat Tails, who was the reigning champ. I've started working on another story, but don't expect me to start posting soon. As I said earlier in the story, I don't really post until I'm finished with the actual writing of the story.

Kaylee: See you all in the next story! *Waves*


End file.
